Sea, Sand and Murder
by PuffinsandPelicans
Summary: Irish town au. When Mai moves to the quiet Irish seaside town of Carlingford, she sees her life as dreary and unexciting. However, when a string of murders occur, Mai finds her life filled with more excitement than she bargained for...
1. Chapter 1: Carlingford

**(A/N): One of the reasons why I decided to start writing this story is because I wanted to write something a lot...lighter than my previous work, Amnesia. I really enjoyed writing Amnesia, but it was exhausting to write, and I have a feeling its sequel will be equally as tiring. So, I wanted to write something a little less dark, and I thought, how about an au?  
It's strange writing Mai as the main protagonist (John was the narrator in Amnesia). It's not as hard as I thought it would be, though.**

**Also, for this au, because it's set in Ireland, assume everyone is Irish unless I say so (for example, I'm keeping Masako as Japanese). And Carlingford is an actual Irish town on the east coast of the Republic of Ireland, for anyone who didn't know. (I didn't just make it up). It's a pretty nice town, actually; I've been there a few times and I enjoyed going there.**

**Well, I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!**

* * *

I can't breathe.

The waves knock into me, again and again. The water forces its way into my mouth, seeping down my throat, into my lungs. Each muscle in my body burns like fire, even though the water is freezing me.

To the left of me, I can see the boat sinking slowly, scraps of metal and wood sticking up out of the water. I can hear shouting, then nothing as I am plunged into water; the constant sound of the waves crashing over me as I surface again; nothing as I fall once more. I kick myself to the surface, and I reach out towards the boat, but my body can't move. Amid the chaos and the panic, the stars are shining, and the sky is beautifully clear.

The salt water is stinging in my eyes. I can't see. I can't breathe.

I'm falling.

The ocean is claiming me. I can't fight it. It's dragging me under. My body can't move, and I'm sinking slowly. There's a weight pressing onto me, pressing into me, but I don't fight it. I let it take me as I am dragged further and further underneath.

I don't understand what happened. How did this happen? Why is this happening? We were fine, and then the water just started pouring in. But we were in clear water. No rocks. No banks.

Why did we sink?

It's all over now, isn't it?

I'm going to drown.

Someone grabs me by the wrist.

I'm moving upwards.

What's happening…?

I cough up the water from my lungs, and exchange it for sweet air. The sky is still clear, and the stars shine down onto the ocean.

I'm not in the water anymore. I'm on something sharp and rough. A rock, I think. The sound of shouting has stopped now. I wonder vaguely where the rest of the crew is. I can't see anyone, and I can't see the boat anymore.

My vision is fading now. I look onto the sea. Everything's fading to black now. All I can see are the stars, and a flash of blue. A fish, maybe.

Then it's gone, and I'm gone, too.

* * *

My eyes snapped open in a panic.

I lay in bed, trying to calm myself with deep breaths. What a horrible nightmare…a nightmare about drowning…

My heart racing, I pushed the thoughts from my head. Calm down, it was just a dream…eventually, my pulse slowed, and I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. A beam of light crept in through my window, pulsating onto the rafters and wooden beams above my head. For a minute, I stared up at it, watching the swirling dust and taking in the peace of the morning. Then I pushed myself out of bed.

It had been three weeks since I moved with my brother to Carlingford in Ireland, County Louth, and life in Dublin seemed a long, long way away. We were renting out a small house among the crowded seaside shops, and my brother had managed to get a job at the local police station. Even I managed to get a part-time job at a restaurant and doing the paper round, so money wouldn't be a problem, it seemed. Still, I missed the hustle and bustle of the city.

As I pulled my jacket on over my pyjamas, preparing myself for what would probably be a windy day, I quickly looked at my alarm. It was half seven, so I'd have some time before I needed to start my morning round.

"Mai, you up?" A voice called from downstairs.

"Yeah, wait a sec, I'm coming!" I fumbled for the trap door. The house was quite small, with only a kitchen, one bedroom and a bathroom, so we had converted the attic into another bedroom for me to sleep in. I actually quite liked it; it had a homey feel and there was a nice view of the sea, but occasionally a spider liked to make itself home there, which was never fun.

To get down, I had to open a trap door and climb down a ladder. As I scrambled down the steps, I hit my head against the ceiling, like every morning since we arrived here.

Cursing, I stumbled to the kitchen table, sitting down in a chair tiredly.

"Morning." My brother was working his way through a bowl of cereal, his hair in desperate need of a thorough brushing. "You off for the paper round?"

"Yeah." I helped myself to some cereal. "What about you, you heading off to work?"

He nodded glumly. "Yeah. Another riveting day at work for me."

"Oh, cheer up." I grinned at him. "I'm sure, one day, the headline will be: 'Great Detective Houshou Takigawa Solves the Crime of the Century!'"

He sighed. "More like: 'Poorly Paid Detective Solves Minor Graffiti Incident in Boring Irish Town.'"

I smiled sadly. "It's not that bad here."

Again, he sighed deeply, before smiling weakly at me. "Yeah. You're right."

"Just make sure you don't forget your badge this time." I teased.

He groaned. "That was one time. Are you ever gonna let me live that down?"

"Nope!"

* * *

After getting changed, I ran to the front door, calling as I did so. "I've got a shift at SPR tonight, so I'll be back around 11."

"Ok. I'll see you later."

"See you!" Quickly, I headed outside, unlocking my bike. As I thought, it was very windy that day, and I had to pedal furiously against the gale as I made my way to the corner shop, where the daily newspaper was ready to be distributed. Leaving my bike against the wall, I hurried inside.

"Morning, Ms Mori." I greeted the shop owner: a young woman who was sitting behind the counter, sipping a coffee in one hand and ferociously scribbling something down on a notebook with the other.

She was so absorbed in her work, she barely glanced up. "Morning, Mai."

I grabbed the package of newspapers and hefted it into my arms. "What're you writing?"

She looked up with a determined grin. "An article. I know there's something behind this one, I can feel it." Though Madoka Mori owned a shop, everyone knew she was also an enthusiastic photographer and an avid writer with a burning journalistic passion, desperate to get one of her articles published as a first page story. Her writing was good enough, and she had managed to get her articles into the paper more than a few times, but it was the first page that she was really driving for.

"I'll be off, then." Gripping the papers tightly, I bundled them back to my bike, and placed them into my basket.

"I'll leave your pay behind the counter!" I heard Madoka shout after me. Knowing her, she'd probably already have left on the search for a lead by the time I'd get back.

The town of Carlingford wasn't particularly big, and tourism provided a lot of the income. Regardless, it had yet to be turned into a cheap, trashy place, and the area was well maintained – a lot better than other seaside resorts I knew. The shops were characteristic, the roads were narrow and quaint, and the old, medieval buildings were charming. A long, stone pier reached out to the ocean, and a huge, ruined castle overlooked the entire town. It was a nice place, but it was very quiet. I could tell that my brother was just as frustrated as I was.

After dropping off all the papers, I headed back to the corner shop, and as I collected my money from the counter, I felt my mobile ring.

"Hello?"

"Good morning. How are you today?" The calm, flowing voice, as smooth as a river, belonged to Masako Hara, my first friend here and my fellow waitress at my part-time job in the Seagull's Point Restaurant.

"I'm good. Wanna meet at Piccolo Corelli?"

"Of course. I'll see you over there."

Piccolo Corelli was an Italian café that, thanks to its lack of a nautical theme, was unfrequented by tourists but popular with the locals. I sat outside at a table, basking in the weak sun as much as I could, and eating an ice cream in spite of the wind and cold. It didn't take long for Masako to arrive.

"Hello Mai." There was no other way to describe her than elegant – in the way she talked, her clothes, her appearance, even in the way she walked. Today, she had donned a lacy blue dress and looped earrings of a Native American style.

She drifted into her seat, pushing her black hair out of her face.

"How're you today?" I asked, feeling unkempt in my scuffed jeans and stained jumper.

"I am well." She looked at the list of flavours. "…I think I shall have vanilla."

"You working tonight?"

"Yes, I am."

Grinning, I leant over. "D'you think _he'll_ be there?"

Masako smiled back. "I hope so.

As we talked, she mentioned something interesting.

"Have you heard, Mai? Another fishing boat was sunk last night."

"What? Another one?"

"Yes. I sensed a feeling of departure this morning, and then I happened to meet Ms Mori on her way out, and she told me."

Masako had quite the reputation for being the town spiritualist. It's not a fact that was broadcast to the tourists, but all the locals knew who she was, and many of the older residents regarded her with an intense respect because of it.

"That's, what, the fourth fishing boat in two weeks!" I exclaimed. "Why are they all sinking?!"

"I couldn't possibly say. There was a survivor this time, though. Ms Mori was on the way to the hospital to talk to him about what happened."

So that explained what Madoka was so fired up about this morning. "Why, does she suspect something?"

"Who knows. But it _is_ a rather unusual coincidence. Will your brother be investigating?"

"Well…I don't know…weren't they all caused by a storm or something?"

"Hm. Perhaps." Masako sounded unsure. "But…I have a feeling…no." She shook her head. "Never mind. Wait a moment and I'll go get my ice cream."

As she went to pay, I thought about what she said. It was a weird coincidence…four in two weeks was a lot, and I didn't think that the waters around here were that rough.

Something clicked in my head. Last night, I had a dream about someone at sea…yes, a sinking ship. And I was drowning, but someone saved me. And my boat was sinking.

But…no. I shook my head. No way. A dream can't be related to a real like event. That's impossible.

Yet…

"Is everything alright?"

I snapped out of my thoughts as Masako sat down.

"Yeah, yeah! Just day dreaming."

That nightmare had no relation to that ship sinking. It was just a coincidence, nothing more.

…Right?


	2. Chapter 2: Seagull's Point Restaurant

**(A/N): I forgot to add last time, but yeah, in this story, I'm making Mai and Takigawa siblings. I don't know why. I just felt like it.**

**This is my first time writing an au, and I'm enjoying the flexibility you get when you write one. (Though it's sometimes hard to get that balance between staying in character and adding your own traits for the characters).**

**I decided that I wanted Mai and Masako to be friends in this, because personally, I find their rather stormy relationship in the mangas a little irritating. (I know they get a bit friendlier later on, but still.) Also, I think it will be interesting describing Masako that isn't just "She wore a kimono" all the time. Yay for aus.**

**Hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!**

* * *

That night, I was late to my shift at the Seagull's Point Restaurant, and I had to use my bike. Unfortunately, it left me feeling sweaty and my hair was a complete mess. Trying to make my appearance a little less dishevelled, I locked up my bike by the entrance and head to the door of the restaurant. The building was situated on a road that faced the sea, a short distance from the pier. Because of this, it was well visited by tourists – and, more fittingly, seagulls. They were often given scraps of food by the tourists who didn't realise the nuisance they were seen as by some of the locals. Tonight, a few seagulls were lingering around the pavement, and I shooed them away, though they didn't retreat very far.

As I reached the door, it swung open, and I stepped to the side as a large drunken man was propelled out of the building. Falling to the floor, he looked up towards the doorway.

"Aw, come on, missy –" He slurred indistinctly.

"That's Ms Matsuzaki to you, idiot! Go sober up, or don't come back!" The restaurant owner noticed me and smile. "Oh, hi Mai. Come in."

I practically had to step over the drunk man to get in, and Ayako – the restaurant owner who also turfed out any unsavoury customers – slammed the door on him.

The restaurant bar – nicknamed SPR by the locals, considering 'Seagull's Point Restaurant' was such a mouthful to say – was large, but like always, was packed full with people. It also doubled as an inn, and I worked there as a waitress with Masako. Like many shops in Carlingford, the restaurant had a heavy maritime theme, and seagulls were all over the restaurant in some form or another, along with the various anchor, fish, shell and even a mermaid. Despite this, Ayako always liked to have potted plants dotted around the restaurant, and it made a nice change from the nautical theme.

Quickly, I hurried to get changed into my uniform, a blue dress with the restaurant logo – a seagull in flight – embroidered on the collar.

"Oh, hello Mai." Masako had already arrived, and already changed too. Right now, she was clipping her hair back in front of a mirror. "I heard a bit of a commotion back there."

"Oh, just some drunk guy." I stepped behind a changing curtain to get dressed. "What's the crowd like?"

"I haven't seen for myself, but I spoke to John before getting changed. He said we have a good haul of tourists today, and the usual locals."

Hearing we have a lot of tourists was always good news; they usually seemed to tip higher than the locals.

"What about _him_?"

I stepped out, slipping a white apron on, and Masako shrugged

"I don't know. I haven't checked yet."

We hurried back to the restaurant, and stood by the bar counter, slightly out of view from the rest of the restaurant.

"Where is he? Where is he?" I whispered into Masako's ear as we peered into the crowd of people.

"I can't see him…" Masako muttered, sounding worried.

As we searched intently, another co-worker of ours passed by.

"You two alright?" He asked, a tray with various empty glasses in his hand.

"John! Come here!" I beckoned him over. "Do you know where our guy is?"

He tilted his head. "The one you two are always talking about?"

I began to protest. "We're not _always_…" Masako gave me a look. "…Ok, yeah, maybe we do talk about him a lot. But he's really good-looking! And young! And he has a British accent! We might actually have a chance with him!"

John pointed to the centre of the restaurant, underneath a chandelier shaped like a ship steering wheel. Sure enough, there he was. "Who's going to serve him, then?" John asked, looking between us. Masako and I stared at each other for a moment, then held out our fists.

"Rock…Paper…Scissors!"

"Scissors beats paper. I'm serving." Masako declared triumphantly.

"Ugh…fine."

Masako strode over, and John patted me on the shoulder. "Better luck next time, Mai." He then set down the glasses, and went about serving more customers.

"Hey, Mai!"

I turned to see one of the local regulars sitting nearby, leaning on the table.

"I didn't realise you were into surly, moody men." He remarked, an eye brow raised. I realised he must have hear our conversation.

"Well, I'm also into handsome men, but since I can't serve any, I guess I'll have to serve you instead." I retorted.

"Ouch. That hurt." He was grinning, though. "Now, could I have an apple cider?"

"One apple cider coming right up!" I wrote it on a piece of paper. Before I walked away, he said,

"Oh, by the way…" He glanced at the person sitting underneath the chandelier. "…What's his name?"

"He's called Kazuya Shibuya. Why d'you ask, Yasuhara?" Yasuhara wasn't much older than I was, and according to Masako, his family owned a fishing business here. Although he would be applying to university soon, I think his parents wanted him to continue the business, and I wondered if the issue caused many problems in his household. He certainly seemed clever enough to get into a good university, so I hoped he was able to apply.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought I recognised him from somewhere."

I hurried over to the bar counter, searching for a glass. Ayako was just finishing serving a customer.

"That drunk guy didn't give you any problems, did he?" I asked, pouring out the liquid into the glass.

"No. He comes quite a lot, and he normally leaves in the same way." She was clearly used to this type of behaviour; not even a single strand of red hair was out of place.

In no time at all, I was hurrying back and forth, fetching drinks, bringing food, a smile on my face at all times. Whenever I served a tourist, and I could tell that they weren't Irish, I forced my accent as much as I could, using every single clichéd and stereotypical phrase as possible. I think I've even said 'Top of the morning' a few times before – as long as the customers tipped, which they always did, I'd say as many ridiculous phrases as I had to. I knew John and Masako did the same, though John stuck to 'G'day, mate' being Australian, and Masako would throw in various Japanese vocabulary to help rake up the tips. We actually got the advice from Ayako, and it never failed us - the tourists always lapped it up.

As I hurried to bring a drink for another tourist, I almost crashed into someone. The drinks on my tray rocked, and I ended up with alcohol soaked on my clothes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Thankfully, none of the spillage seemed to have gone on the customer.

However, the customer didn't even say anything. He just stared down at me, towering above me with a scowl on his face. His appearance had a very rough, rugged feel to it that made me a bit nervous.

I was saved from any more of the tense silence by John, who approached us with a smile. "Oh, Lin! I didn't realise you were coming tonight!"

The man – Lin – broke away from his intense glare at me, and looked over at him. "Hello. Is there a table free?" His voice was surprisingly quiet.

"Yeah, your place by the window. I'll come over to serve you in a moment."

The colossal man nodded, and slowly went over to a single seat by a window. I muttered to John,

"Who was that?"

"Oh, that's Lin." He didn't seem even a little intimidated by the giant of a man.

"L-Lin?" I frowned. "Does he come here a lot?"

"Yeah, he's a regular. But he doesn't really speak to anyone here. He always sits over there, orders a beer, stays for a little while, then leaves."

"Oh. I don't think I've seen him around town at all."

"That makes sense. He works in a light house, and he keeps to himself. But he's really nice."

"Nice? Huh. I guessed 'scary', but…wait. Do you _know_ him or something?"

"Yeah. We're friends. I visit him in his light house from time to time."

Friends?! "O-Oh." Somehow, I couldn't imagine John – cute, small, innocent-looking John – being friends with a man like that.

"Here, let me take those." John suggested. "I'll clean this up and get some new drinks. You go dry yourself."

"Thanks." Gratefully, I passed him the tray, and hurried to the bathroom. Inside, I frantically tried to wash the sticky substances from my clothes, thankful it wasn't something staining like a fruit drink. We were responsible for our own work clothes, and needed to keep them clean. It'd be a pain if Ayako had to buy a new one, and I didn't want to cause her bother when it was only my few weeks there.

As I dabbed water at my apron, trying to dilute the spillage, I decided to open the bathroom window and let a little air into the room. That's when I heard it.

"…come on, it won't hurt to tell." I recognised the honey-coated voice as Madoka's.

"No, no…I can't…Doctor-patient confidentiality, after all…" I didn't know the second voice, but whoever it was had had perhaps one too many alcoholic drinks that night.

"Oh, no one will know it was you! Come on." Madoka asked hopefully. "Any drinks you want will be on me."

"Well…it's funny…no, I mean, it's a lucky escape for that man. Everyone else on the boat managed to escape into the life boats, but he fell in the water. He could have died, really. The water is still pretty cold in summer."

"Does anyone know why the boat went down?"

"No. They say the hold just suddenly started filling up with water, and they don't know why."

I could hear pen on paper as Madoka scribbled this down. "Really?"

"Yeah, but – listen to this. He could have been in shock or something from hitting the water, and he was drowning, so there are a load of reasons as to why he thinks this, but…"

"Go on." Madoka urged him on.

"Well…he says he was rescued by a mermaid." At once, the other person burst out laughing.

"…A _mermaid_?" Madoka asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah." The other person controlled their laughter. "Yeah. He claims he saw a flash of blue scales, like a fish, moving about in the water, and that he saw an arm or something as whatever it was swam away, I don't know…but he seems really serious about it."

A flash of blue scales? Where had I…

In my dream.. .I saw a flash of blue fish scales in my dream…

No way. I was not telepathic, and there was no such thing as mermaids anyway. It was just another weird coincidence.

"Mai?"

Yelping, I replied louder than I wanted, "Yes?!"

Masasko was standing in the door way of the bathroom.

"Are you alright?"

"Ah, um, yeah, I'm fine." I dried my hands briefly with a paper towel, and dabbed my wet clothes a bit more, I hurried back over into the restaurant with her. "Is it busy?"

She nodded. "Sorry to hassle you. It's just getting a little hectic."

The rest of the evening was, as Masako said, hectic. By the time the restaurant closed, I felt exhausted. Masako, John and I sat around table, pooling our tips and splitting the total amount equally between us. There were other waiters and waitresses at the restaurant, since it was fairly large, and other staff that worked for the inn, but today a few had called in ill, which only increased the amount of work we'd had to do. Still, we'd managed to do well today, so I left tired but pleased.

Outside, it was dark, and I picked up my bike as I looked out to the ocean. It was very calm tonight, and the sky was completely clear, allowing the stars to shine down on the water, their reflection shaking and shattering with each gentle break of the waves. It was hard to believe that a boat had sunk in those very waters the previous night. Thinking back to the conversation I overheard, the survivor of the sunken boat had suddenly started filling up with water for no reason. How did that happen without him noticing?

"Hey." A voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see my brother walking towards me.

"Hey!" I wheeled my bike over to him. "How was work?"

"Uh…" He sighed. "Like normal. What about you?"

He didn't seem open to talk about it, and when I realised he had probably been helping the life guard recover the bodies from last night, I understood why he was so reluctant to talk about work.

"It was busy tonight." We began to walk along the pavements back towards home, and Houshou wheeled my bike for me. "A lot of tourists."

As we turned the corner, a thought occurred to me. "Hey…you know that boat that sunk last night?"

"…Yeah?" He shuddered involuntarily.

"Does anyone know why it sunk?"

He hesitated before answering. "…Well, we think it was caused by a storm. There was one last night. But…" He trailed off uncertainly.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's just…four in two weeks…it's a big coincidence, isn't it?"

"It is." I agreed. "But it was just a storm, right?"

"Right."

The rest of the walk home, we didn't mention the subject of the sinking boat again. Yet I could tell, even as we talked of mundane matters, that there was a single thought tossing and turning at the back of our minds like a ship on the waves.

Was it all really a coincidence?


	3. Chapter 3: The Pier

**(A/N): I like writing aus. They mean I can experiment. **

**I was told in a review for Amnesia that I had the habit of jumping around the narrative too much, switching to different points of view too quickly, and that it was a bit confusing, so I've decided to use those big line things. I don't normally, but it's a habit I should break out of. I don't like said big line things too much, but fanfic keeps on eating any dashes that I use as page breaks, so I don't really have any alternative. **

**School is hard work. I'll try and upload when I can, but school often steals the spotlight in my priorities. For this story anyway (The Artefact is a whole other matter) I'll try and upload weekly, though this may not be possible in certain circumstances. I apologise in advance.**

**If you're enjoying this story, feel free to leave a review. Wink wink. **

**Thank you for reading!**

* * *

I'm standing in the shadows by the pier, staring out to the ocean. The boats have been tied up and left to remain on the water, for the ocean is quite still tonight. The scent of salt and spray is strong and cuts through the night air.

Someone walks past me. I can't see who it is, but the carry a big duffle bag and they're moving carefully; slowly. They walk along the pier, towards one of the larger boats – a fishing boat. Quietly, they climb onto the boat. For a few minutes, everything is still as they slip down into the hold, and I lose sight of them. Then, they appear again and, moving surprisingly fast, leave just as suddenly as they came.

Whoever it is, they run past me, and I decide to follow them, intrigued. Strangely, they start walking up the old stone steps on the side of the cliff, on top of which the castle looks out across the town and the ocean. I climb up after them, surprised that I haven't been spotted by the strange person, and the only sound between us is the person's heavy breathing.

Eventually, we both reach the top, and the huge stone castle looms above us. The person halts abruptly, and I almost walk into them. Still, they haven't noticed me. Instead, they kneel down and rummage through the duffle bag. As they do so, they roll up their sleeves, and I realise that they are wearing gloves, and that there is a tattoo on the person's arm; a mermaid, with blue and golden inked scales that shimmer in the moonlight.

Apparently satisfied after a few minutes of rummaging around, they stand up again and throw the bag into a large bush growing by the base of the castle. Then, they walk away. This time, I do not follow.

Not long after, I hear heavy footsteps – a lot clumsier and heftier than the previous person – and turn around to see another person running towards the same bush. This time, I think I recognise their voice as they chuckle breathlessly, but I can't quite figure out who it is. Like the other person with the mermaid tattoo, they throw their back pack into the bushes then, still laughing, run away.

* * *

As the morning broke, my eyes flickered open, and for a few minutes, I remained in bed, staring up at the ceiling and the dancing dust in the light.

That was a strange dream, I thought vaguely. I had no idea what it was about, but what really bothered me was the second person. I was sure I recognised them, but I wasn't sure where from.

Slowly, I got up. Bizarrely, I had the sudden urge to go to the castle and check those bushes. As I climbed down the ladder, I heard my brother calling out to me.

"Mai, I'm heading out now."

"Crap!" I hissed as I hit my head again. "How come you're leaving so early?"

"Someone's graffitied again." He explained, and he sounded more annoyed than excited. "I'll see you later."

"Ok!" As he walked out of the door, I called, "Don't forget your badge!"

Cursing, he ran back in, snatched the badge from the kitchen work top, and left again.

* * *

As soon as my paper round was finished, I began to head straight to the castle. When I reached the steps, leaving my bike at the bottom, I noticed some sort of commotion by the pier. Curiously, I walked over to see what was happening.

There was a police car parked at the end of the pier, and a group of people were standing around, talking heatedly.

"Oh, hi Mai!" One of the people broke away from the discussion and walked over to me.

"Hey, Yasuhara." I greeted him. "What's going on? Is that the police?"

"Yeah. Our boat has fallen victim to that graffiti artist."

"Oh." Listening carefully, I could hear what was being said.

"First my shop, and now my boat." Someone was shouting. "This is the third time! I demand you to do something about this, this…vandal!"

"We're doing all we can, sir." I realised it was my brother who was being shouted at. "I'm afraid you're just going to have to be patient."

"Patient?! _Patient?!_ This cretin is going to ruin my business! And you still never figured out who cut up my net a year ago! I lost a good haul thanks to that, and you never found out who it was!"

"Wow." I whispered to Yasuhara. "He seems a little worked up. Who is he?"

"That would be my father." Yasuhara gave me a wry grin. "He has a special talent for over exaggerating."

"O-Oh."

"And this is the third that someone has graffitied on our property: twice on our shop, then last night on our boat."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Yasuhara waved his hand dismissively. "Or…was it you? Is that why you're apologising?"

"No!" I shook my head vigorously. "I was saying it as in 'sorry for your loss' or something!"

He laughed. "I was just kidding. Anyway, dad's just a little pissed because he won't be able to bring his boat out until all the paint has been washed off the boat. There are some clam farms or oyster farms or something around here, and the local authorities don't want the paint to poison them."

"Oh, I see. That sounds like a pain."

"Dad definitely seems to think so. I think it's quite funny." He admitted.

"What's been painted on the boat?" I asked.

"…Well, it's not exactly Banksy, you know? It's a bit crude. And dad isn't fond of crude jokes."

The man was berating my brother quite harshly, so it wasn't difficult so see how angry he was.

"What're you doing around here anyway?" Yasuhara asked in interest.

"O-Oh." I raced to think of an excuse. "I was just – wait a second." I stared at the people standing on the pier. The group consisted of Yasuhara's father, my brother, and one other person.

"Who's that over there?" I asked, squinting my eyes against the glare of the sun's reflection on the water.

Yasuhara grinned. "Why, it's the man you've been stalking at the pub."

"What?! No way!" I looked closer, and sure enough, it was him – Kazuya Shibuya. "What's he doing here?!"

"He's a police officer. I thought I recognised him at SPR, because he came around to talk to my father after the first graffiti incident."

"No way!" I repeated myself. "Wait – does he work with my brother?!"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask."

"But…he's so young! He looks the same age as me! Surely he can't be a police officer at that age…"

"I think he's one of those child prodigy types." Yasuhara mused. "He's probably really clever."

"Hmmm…" I'd have to find out more about him.

"Yasuhara! Get over here!" Yasuhara's father was angrily beckoning him over. With a sigh, Yasuhara walked back to him.

"I'll see you later, Mai." He called over his shoulder.

I watched them for a while, although I couldn't understand what they were saying, since the conversation had quietened down. It was with a jolt that I remembered why I was there in the first place. Hastily, I scrambled up the stone steps to the base of the castle, and ran around until I located the bush from my dream.

The castle was quite large but in ruins. Stones had crumbled from the walls where plants had grown into cracks, and the main door had long since deteriorated. Now, it had been replaced with a rather ugly metal sheet, and construction around the back of the castle to prevent half of it from collapsing looked out of place.

"Huh." Now I was there, I felt a bit sheepish, despite the fact that no one else was there. Foraging around in a bush because of a random dream…I felt a little foolish. Still, I knelt down and began to part the branches, looking though the undergrowth. I couldn't see anything, so I reached my hand into the tangle of leaves and thorns.

When my hand brushed against something fabric, I froze entirely.

Slowly, and in complete disbelief, I pulled out a small, battered back pack from the bushes. For a moment, I stared at it, not fully comprehending what was in my hands. My movements felt like I was underwater. My body acted on its own, and I looked through the bushes again. This time, I pulled out a large duffle bag.

"No. No way." I felt a little light headed, and had to sit down on the grass to regain my composure. This was insane. This wasn't right. It couldn't be! It was impossible! I mean…these were in my dreams, but that's all it was! A dream! Yet here they were, in front of me.

Shaking my head, I stood up. I was going to have to consult the only person I knew who might be able to tell me what was going on here.

* * *

"…I see. It sounds as if you have ESP."

"What?!" I was sitting on Masako's bed, and I could not believe what she was telling me.

Considering she came from a well-off family, Masako's house was huge, and her room reflected her family's wealth. Her double bed was enormous, and its soft mattress put my own to shame, which creaked every time I breathed, practically. She had a single large window; it looked out not onto the sea, but onto the hills, which were tinged purple from the heather. Still, despite the splendour of her room, it had a uniqueness to it: the dream catchers that hung from the window, the old-fashioned Japanese paintings hanging on the wall, and the tatami mat floor. A Kimono decorated with wisteria flowers was hanging from the door of her wardrobe. Masako was very proud of her Japanese heritage, and I was always asking to see her kimonos and to try them on. They were all very beautiful, masterpieces in their own rights, but they were a lot more difficult to put on than I'd realised.

"It seems you might have clairvoyance –"

"No, wait, wait." I waved my hands. "What's ESP?"

"Extra sensory perception." Masako explained. "It's the ability to know or sense things that a normal person could not."

"A-And what's 'clairvoyance'?"

"Think of it as…visions. I believe you've been having visions concerning the recent sinkings."

"Oh. Wow." It's all I could say, really. I was so overcome with disbelief, I couldn't think of what to say. "S-So…y-you mean…"

"What happened in your dreams is what happened in reality."

"B-But…That's impossible!"

Raising her eye brow, Masako pointed to the two bags which I had brought with me.

"O-Oh. Yeah…still, I thought ESP was made up…"

"Well, I'm afraid I can't guarantee you have ESP. I can't be entirely sure. If we could talk to someone more knowledgeable in this subject, they might be able to verify it."

"Hmmm…" I crossed my legs. "But why – saying, for arguments sake, this is all true and completely not crazy – why would I have 'visions' about a boat sinking? I mean, it was just caused by a storm…"

"Who knows? What I want to know is what is in these bags."

"Ah. I don't know." I admitted. I'd been so wrapped up in the whole dream-is-reality thing, I hadn't actually checked.

Cautiously, we opened the duffle bag first, and peered inside.

"What's all of this?" I murmured. A mess of detached wires lay in the bag, and a few tins of chemicals I didn't recognise were there, too. Curiously, Masako lifted up a can.

"I don't know…" She examined it closely. "Maybe someone was making something…"

We moved onto the back pack. Inside were a collection of aerosol cans.

"Spray paints?" I peered at them. "Why would…wait. The person who graffitied Yasuhara's boat! This must be theirs!"

"Then, we have to tell the police!"

I hesitated. "I saw my brother down at the pier this morning. Let's go find him."

Hastily, we ran down to the pier, the aerosol cans clinking in the back pack as we moved. After a few minutes of wandering around the port, we finally found him, hastily picking a collection of stray items from the road. As we approached, we realised John was there, doing the same.

"I'm so sorry." Houshou was saying. "I didn't see you there."

"It's ok." John smiled at him. "I wasn't looking where I was going, either."

Looking on the scene, I realised that John, who had been carrying a shopping bag, must have crashed into my brother, and now his purchases had fallen onto the road. That sounded like the beginning of a terribly clichéd romance novel or something, I thought to myself.

Stopping a bottle just before it rolled off the edge of the pier, my brother helped John to his feet.

"Sorry about that." He apologised again. "If anything's broken, I'll pay for it."

"Oh no, don't worry about it. Everything's fine, anyway." John reassured him. As we neared, he saw us and smiled.

"Oh, hey Mai, Masako." John greeted us pleasantly. "How are you today?"

"Um…" Immediately, I looked down at the bag in my hands. I still couldn't wrap my thoughts around how I had seen it in my dream, and how was actually real. ESP? Clairvoyance? It was crazy.

Masako nudged me, interrupting my thoughts, and I realised I needed to answer instead of soliloquising.

"O-Oh! Sorry! Yeah, I'm grand! How about you?"

"Wait." Houshou looked between us, puzzled. "Do you guys know each other?"

"Yeah. We work at SPR together." I explained.

"I'm John Brown." John held out his hand, and Houshou shook it. "I work with Mai as a waiter at SPR."

"I'm Houshou Takigawa. Mai's brother. I work at the station as a police officer."

"Oh, you're siblings? I see. You look a little similar."

"Oh, we don't." Houshou assured him.

"Yeah, we look nothing alike." I agreed. "Oh, yeah! Houshou. We were looking for you."

"Oh. What's wrong?" Even though he was on duty, Houshou looked pretty relaxed. Well, nothing really happened around here anyway, so I understood why he was so unperturbed.

Again, I stared down at the bag in my hands, and my mind raced as I thought of what to say. I would have to say it…carefully. Subtly.

"Uh…well…we found this in the bushes and it has a load of aerosol cans inside and we think it belongs to the graffitist."

Masako rolled her eyes at my lack of tact, while Houshou stared at me in shock.

"…You what?" He finally asked. I passed him the bag, and he rummaged inside.

"When did you find this?!" He asked in disbelief.

"T-Today. I was just, you know, hanging by the castle, and I happened to look in the bushes. Like, I just happened to look. You know?"

Masako gave me an exasperated look at my terrible lying powers, and I shrugged.

Thankfully, my brother didn't seem to notice; he was far too absorbed in the fact that he had been handed a bag filled with evidence.

"By the castle? Right, I better go find Shibuya. You haven't seen a kid in a uniform wondering around here at all, have you?"

"Wait. Kazuya Shibuya? So you do work with him!" I scowled. "Why didn't you say you worked with such a handsome guy? Who happens to be our age, too!"

"Oh, you work with Kazuya Shibuya?" John tilted his head. "I'm pretty sure he rents out a room at the inn like I do."

That must have been why he turned up so frequently at the restaurant. "Houshou, why didn't you tell us?"

"Why? Are you interested in a moody guy like him?"

I blushed, and Masako protested, "We're just fond of people who are aesthetically pleasing. Is that such a crime?"

Houshou scowled. "He's handsome alright, I'll give you that. But he's really irritating. Even though he's only 17, and we're partners, he's always acting like he's better than me and more clever than me –"

"Wait, he's your partner?!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, and an annoying partner. He's always wandering off, always talking about that psychic nonsense, and always acting patronising towards me."

"Wait. Psychic nonsense?" I asked.

"He's obsessed with parapsychology or something. He's always reading books about it. It's the only thing he's willing to talk about freely. It's exhausting."

He liked _what_? I glanced at Masako, and she seemed to be thinking what I was thinking.

"Look, I'd better get this back to the police station." With that, Houshou hurried away, calling over his shoulder. "I'll see you later, Mai! Thanks for the evidence!"

"Uh…no problem…" I called weakly after him.

"Well, I'd better get going." John shifted the grocery bag in his arms. "I need to get this milk in the fridge."

"Hey, which way are you going?" I asked. It looked as if he was walking out to the pier, which was a little strange if he was heading back to SPR.

"Oh, I'm going to the lighthouse. Lin asked me to do a little shopping for him. Mainly cat food."

I still couldn't imagine John and that huge light house owner being friends. "O-Oh. Are you working tonight?"

"Yeah. You are too, right?"

We both nodded.

"Ok, I'll see you then."

He was a long way down the pier when I noticed that he had dropped a tin of cat food and forgotten to pick it up.

"Oh. John forgot this." It was a little dirty from being on the ground, so I gave it a quick brush over with my sleeve – something that made Masako sigh disapprovingly. As I did so, something fell into my hand.

It was a small scale, I think. Somehow, that was the first thought to pop into my head. A scale. It didn't look like a scale from any fish around here, though. It was bright blue, and quite sharp at the tips. At first, I made to simply through it away, but something stopped me. I wasn't sure what, but something told me that that scale was important.

"What's that?" Masako asked, peering at the scale in my hands.

"Oh, nothing. Just a scale." I put it in my pocket. "But, d'you reckon that our favourite customer will be here tonight?"

Masako smiled. "I do hope so."

I grinned back. "Yeah. Do you think he can help clear up this whole…ESP thing?"

"Maybe. I just don't know how you're going to get the subject started without sounding strange, considering your wonderful tact today."

"Hey. I wasn't _that_ bad…" Masako gave me a look. "…Ok, maybe I wasn't brilliant…"

"Either way, we need to ask him about him. And as for that duffle bag, maybe you should give that to your brother as well?"

"Yeah, I guess…" I thought about the rest of the dream. Who was the person with the mermaid tattoo? What was the purpose of the duffle bag? Why were they on that boat?

Most of all, there was the matter of this 'ESP'. Did I really have it? Was I…psychic?

We needed to find Kazuya Shibuya.


	4. Chapter 4: In the Hold

**(A/N): I realised I made a mistake when writing this - I always forget this, but Yasuhara's first name isn't actually Yasuhara, it's Osamu, yet I always refer to him as 'Yasuhara' but oh well. Everyone else seems to do it, so I don't care that much. **

**Oh yeah, in this story, Yasuhara's father is Hideharu Matsuyama, a.k.a. the douche bag teacher from Forbidden Pastimes at Yasuhara's school. I forgot to mention that earlier. Sorry about that.**

**This chapter is not as long as I thought it was, so sorry about that.**

**Will there be Mai/Naru? Hmm. You'll have to read to find out... ;)**

**Thank you for reading (and thank you to those lovely people who left some very nice reviews :D) ad I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

I spent a lot of my shift at Seagull's Point Restaurant waiting for Kazuya Shibuya to arrive, and trying to figure out how I'd approach him and start the conversation. Tonight was a lot less busy, and it was mainly the locals who were at the restaurant that night. Once again, Ayako had to throw out the drunken man from the previous night, but other than that, it was pretty quiet.

"It's pretty quiet, isn't it?" Yasuhara voiced my thoughts as I served him. "Though I prefer it that way."

"Yeah…" I was only half listening; I was still thinking of how I'd bring up the conversation.

"Hey, is that your brother?"

"Yeah…"

"He's totally chatting up John."

"Yeah…Wait, what?!"

I peered over. My brother was sitting down at a table, and John was serving him. They were talking friendlily together, and if I didn't know my brother better, I'd say he looked a little shy.

"What. What." I stared at them. "Are they going to hook up?"

"I don't know. I don't think the light house keeper looks very happy about it. Maybe he's one of those 'protective father' types?"

I glanced over to the window seat, where Lin was sitting. He was watching the two very closely, in particular Houshou. From the intentness of his gaze, I was surprised my brother didn't notice.

"Oh my gosh." I breathed. "John's writing something down."

"Probably his order. You know, because that's what waiters do. Write down people's orders." Yasuhara pointed out, amused, and I shushed him.

"No, no, look. He's giving it to him. Oh my gosh." I grabbed Yasuhara's shoulder and squeezed it. "He's giving him his number! Oh my gosh!"

"Ow!" Yasuhara rubbed his shoulder. "Hey, hey, John's coming this way, act natural."

I fumbled for my notepad and began scribbling down random letters. "Ok, that's one cider! I'll go get that immediately for you! It's not a problem! Apple cider, right? Apple is my favourite!"

John walked past, oblivious.

Yasuhara crossed his arms. "You really suck at 'acting natural'."

"Shut up. I try my best. Do you want an apple cider, though?"

Yasuhara smiled. "You know me too well."

As I went to go get it for him, I realised that, with the drama of my brother chatting up one of my co-workers, I had completely failed to notice that the person I had been waiting for ever since I arrived on my shift was finally there. As soon as I served Yasuhara, I headed over to him, getting my notebook out quickly.

When I neared, though, I slowed to a halt. Another man, who I didn't recognise, was talking to him confidentially.

"Look, I heard that, for paranormal experiences, you were the bloke to go to." He was saying. "And I've had a paranormal experience."

"…Go on." Kazuya Shibuya said, after some hesitation.

"So…I was on this boat two nights ago, and it sank. I almost drowned. But someone saved me. Something saved me."

"What do you mean?"

"…Everyone's saying I'm crazy, but I _know_ what I saw. It…It was a person…but with a fish tail."

Kazuya Shibuya stared at him. "…You mean a mermaid?"

"Yeah, yeah, that."

So this was the man that Madoka Mori had been talking about the other night…

"…I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid my area of expertise is that of spirits, PK and ESP. I can't help you, it seems."

"Oh." The man looked crestfallen. "Ok. Sorry for wasting your time."

"That's fine." As soon as the other man had left, I hurried over.

"Hello, are you ready to order?" I asked, smoothing out my hair.

"Ah, yes." He was even more handsome up close. "Could I have some Bulmers, please?"

"Of course." I wrote it down as slowly as possible. "…So…you, um…I'm Mai. You work with my brother."

"Your brother is Houshou Takigawa?"

"Yeah, that's the one!"

"You two look alike."

I laughed, and shook my head. "Not really, honestly. Anyway, I've heard that you're into…parapsychology, was it?"

"Yes."

"Well…you see…how do I put this…do you think I could talk about it with you, perhaps? Y-You see, I think I…witnessed something paranormal recently, so…"

Kazuya, at once looking intrigued, smiled a little, which only improved his good-looks. "I have a day off tomorrow. How about we talk then?"

I couldn't help but grin, thankful for how willingly he was agreeing to this. "Ok, that sounds grand. Have you heard of a café called Piccolo Corelli?"

* * *

Sitting at the café the next day, I waited anxiously for Kazuya to arrive. For the entire morning, I had been texting Masako furiously with questions such as: What should I wear? Formal or casual? Or formal-casual? What if I was stood up? Did this count as a date? What if he didn't believe me about the ESP thing? In the end, I convinced Masako to come along too, and she sat at a nearby table, stirring at latte and ready to stand in and rescue me if things went disastrously.

Outside, it had started raining half way to the café, catching my unprepared and ruining my hair. I knew that, in no time at all, it would go frizzy and unkempt. Self-consciously, I tried flattening it a little, then ran my combed my fingers through it to give it back some volume. Nervously, I glanced at Masako, looking for an opinion on my appearance, and she looked up as well, giving me a thumbs up. A second later, I glanced down as my phone buzzed.

_You'll be fine. You look great. Xx_.

I gave her a grateful smile, and my feelings of nervousness faded a little.

Moments later, I looked up to see Kazuya Shibuya walking into the café, running his hand through his wet hair as we put down his umbrella, shaking off the rain water from the cover.

"Ah. Good afternoon." He sat down opposite me, and shrugged off his wet coat. "You look well."

"U-U-Um, thanks…"

Looking at the menu of drinks, he asked me, "Do you know what you'd like to drink?"

"Oh, I'll probably just have a c-cappu-cappuccino." My tongue tripped around the word. "W-What about you?"

"I think I'll go for a cup of tea."

My nerves couldn't take it anymore. "H-How about I go order?"

Not waiting for a response, I dashed off to the counter to order the drinks. Ok, Mai. Calm down. Act cool.

Bringing the drinks over to the table, I placed them down and sat back in my seat.

"So, um…you're pretty young to be an officer."

"That's true. But I was offered a place to study early."

"A-Ah. You must be pretty clever, huh?"

"You could say that." He said smugly.

"So…" I still couldn't bring myself to bring up the ESP matter. "…What's it like working with my brother?"

He considered it. "Well, on our first day together, he forgot his badge."

I chuckled. "Oh yeah. That was a laugh."

"So, you wanted to speak about a paranormal incident you experienced?"

"Ah. Yeah." I moved my hair behind my ear. "Well…ok, how do I put this…I had a dream."

"A dream?"

"Yeah. And in my dream, someone hid some bags in a bush. So, when I woke up, I looked in these bushes. And, uh, the bag was there! Crazy, right?" I chuckled nervously, sipping my cappucino.

Kazuya stared at me, intrigued. "Tell me about this dream."

I explained to him the contents of my dream, and when I mentioned the back pack, he frowned.

"…Did you tell your brother about this dream, by any chance?"

"Not exactly. But I did give him the back pack when I found it."

Kazuya rolled his eyes. "So _that's_ how he found it…well, from what you've described to me, it seems like you have ESP. Clairvoyance, most likely."

I still couldn't believe what I was hearing. "W-W…Are you sure about that?"

"There's a test you could take if you want to be certain. May I ask, have you had any other strange dreams recently?"

"Yeah, I had one where I was drowning and…" I paused, frowning. Something occurred to me.

"…Ok. Let's say, for arguments sake – only for arguments sake, just to make that clear – that I have ESP or whatever."

"Go on."

"Ok. So, I had this dream where I was drowning, and I'm pretty sure a boat was sinking. I thought I was going to die, but someone saved me."

Kazuya frowned and asked urgently, "When did you have this dream?"

"About three nights ago. The night of the boat sinking. Do you think – if I really have ESP, that is – that that dream could have been about the boat sinking?"

Kazuya closed his eyes in thought. "…That is a very probable possibility."

"Ok. But…something's bothering me." I frowned. "Everyone says that the reason that boat sank was because of a storm, right?"

Kazuya nodded. "It's hard to be sure, but we managed to pinpoint roughly where the boat sank. It wasn't particularly far from the pier, and there were no rocks or other hazards like that about, so a storm is our best guess."

"Well, it's just…in my dream, I remember looking up, and I could see the stars. The sky was really clear that night. If it was a storm, then why was the sky so clear? I mean, to sink a fishing boat, it would have to be a pretty big storm, right? So why was the sky so clear?"

Kazuya frowned. "…That is puzzling." He furrowed his brow. "…Unless…" His eyes widened, as if he had just figured something out. "…Mai, what did you say was in that duffle bag?"

"Just a bunch of wires and some tins. Why?"

He looked troubled. "And you say the person with the duffle bag went into a fishing boat?"

"Yeah." I paused. "…Now that I think of it, I think it was Yasuhara's boat. But, you know, it might mean nothing. Because I probably don't have ESP."

He didn't seem to be listening. "I need to search this boat."

"Wait, what?"

He stood up and put on his coat. "Thank you for your help."

"W-W-W…I didn't do anything! Wait, you can't go search a boat based on a dream! It probably means nothing!"

He buttoned up his coat. "I knew that this wasn't an accident. Four boats don't just sink like that in such a small time frame. I knew it."

"What?! What are you talking about?! It was just a dream!" I threw a look of confusion towards Masako. "I don't have ESP! Like…yeah, I had those dreams, but…ESP? That's impossible!"

Kazuya scoffed. "It's perfectly possible, let me reassure you." He began to hurry from the café.

I turned to Masako. "Come on!" I called, before following him out into the rain. Muttering something about not being able to finish her latte, Masako followed me reluctantly.

* * *

Outside, it really was tipping it down, and I quickly opened up my umbrella, before running to catch up with Kazuya.

"Kazuya, wait! You can't just assume something like that based off a dream I had!" I insisted.

"Well, I can't completely deny the possibility either." He retaliated. "If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But if I'm right, then it changes a lot."

Masako caught up with me. "What's going on?"

"Apparently, I have clairvoyance, and now that means that the boat accidents weren't really accidents."

Kazuya rolled his eyes. "When you put it that way, it makes me sounds crazy."

"Well, this whole thing is crazy!" We had arrived at the pier. "My dream can't have any relation to what's happening in real life!"

"Unless you have ESP." Kazuya countered.

"He has a point." Masako joined in seriously. "If you do have ESP, then your dreams could be important.

I groaned. "Not you too, Masako!"

"I'm searching this boat." Kazuya approached Yasuhara's fishing boat, which was still tied up at the pier from yesterday. On the hull, I could see some faint traces of paint from the graffitist. "If you're right, Mai, and your dream has no meaning, then there'll be nothing on board. But I can't put my mind to rest until I've searched it. Ok?"

I crossed my arms, frowning. "…Shouldn't you have a warrant or something?"

"It'll be fine." He got on board carefully, and called back to me, "You said the person went into the hold, right?"

"Yeah, yeah…" I scowled. "You make sure you don't get caught."

For a minute, I waited, as the rain continued pouring down. "This is unbelievable." I muttered.

"Well, so is finding those bags based off your dream, but that still happened." Masako reasoned, and I sighed.

"Yeah, but…it can't be true, right? It's just a coincidence…right?"

"Well, we'll see."

Soon, Kazuya emerged from the hold, getting out his mobile.

"Let me guess. Nothing was there, like I said." I called out.

He shushed me angrily as he dialled a number and held the phone to his ear.

"Fine! Whatever! I don't care. I'm going home." I turned angrily and began to walk away.

"Is this Houshou?" Kazuya was asking. "…I think we need to rethink the boat incidents…"

The next words made me freeze where I stood. "I found a bomb in the hold of the Matsuyama family's boat."

I turned around slowly, sharing a look of shock with Masako. Did he say…bomb?


	5. Chapter 5: Blue Marlin

**(A/N): I apologise for being a day late in my update. I meant to update yesterday, but was unable to due to some certain circumstances, i.e. homework.**

**Again, this chapter is rather small (at least by my own standards). I think they will end up getting longer the further I go into this story.**

**Mai and Kazuya shout a lot at each other, especially Mai. Sometimes, I find this quite tedious to replicate. I don't think there are many episodes of Ghost Hunt where Mai _doesn't_ shout at someone or something...**

**Who would have a research group called SPR indeed? (You'll understand when you see my (read: terrible) marvellous joke later on.)**

**Oh, by the way, Kenshou Imura is a character who only appears in the manga, not the anime. He is a monk from...someplace I can't remember who also goes to the mansion in the Blood Stained Labyrinth arc to investigate the disappearances. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. Maybe if you liked it, you could read a nice review... ;) Thank you for reading!**

* * *

At the restaurant, although it was pretty quiet, everyone was talking excitedly about the same thing: the bomb found in Yasuhara's boat.

"Ok, ok." One man said. "Maybe this: someone in the fishing industry did something real bad, and now someone's out to get revenge, by sinking all those boats?"

"But why all the boats? Why not just the person who angered them?" Someone else called out.

Everyone in the restaurant was gathered around the front section, near the bar counter, and the room was unusually quiet. The customers consisted only of locals, and everyone wanted to discuss the shocking information that was revealed today. Only Lin, sitting at his window seat like normal, hadn't joined in the conversation.

Since all that anyone wanted was a drink, and everyone was right at the front anyway, I didn't have to be running back and forth like normal, so I got to hear a lot of the conspiracy theories and speculations that were floating around, as did John and Masako.

Earlier on, when Kazuya had found that bomb, he called for back up, and we were questioned. I had to tell the police – or rather, my brother – about the duffle bag we had found, but I didn't mention the fact I had found it based on a dream.

"Man, Mai." Houshou scratched his head. "Are you telling me you found that duffle bag with all those wires and things inside it, and didn't think it was suspicious at all?"

I shrugged unhelpfully, and he groaned. "Mai, you should have told me!"

"Well, you got the credit for the bag with the aerosol cans." Kazuya remarked snidely, having heard the conversation. "It's only fair I get the credit for this." He moved on before Houshou could reply with something insulting, talking to another officer.

Of course, Yasuhara and his family had been told about the incident, and from there, the rumour had managed to circulate the entire town.

"Tell us again, Yasuhara." Madoka, obviously, was writing down every piece of information she heard. "What exactly did they tell you?"

Yasuhara had become the centre of attention and the source of information, and had been forced to recount what the police had told him several times to help differentiate between fact and rumour.

He sighed, but I think he was enjoying himself. "Well, they came up to us, and told us that a small bomb had been found in the hold of our fishing boat. It was a remote controlled one, so it hadn't gone off. They reckon whoever put it there was waiting for the boat to head out to sea before blowing it up, and if it had blown up while we were at sea, we would have sunk."

There was a moment of hushed murmurings.

"Well, our 'Sea, Sand and Sun' image is ruined, isn't it?" Madoka didn't sound troubled by this; if anything, she sounded pleased. "The tourist company is going to have to change its motif now." She chuckled, referring to the constant phrase the tourist companies liked to use about the town: 'Sea, Sand and Sun.'

"So, do they think that those other sinkings weren't actually caused by a storm or sharp rocks after all, then?" Ayako wondered, drying a glass absent-mindedly. "Or was this a one-off?"

"I don't know. They didn't say." Yasuhara admitted. "But they looked very serious. I think they're definitely considering it."

"Of course it was the same person!" Someone called out. "Four boats – all fishing boats – don't sink in just two weeks by accident!"

"Well, I want to know how the police even found that bomb." Ayako remarked. "What made them think to look on your boat, Yasuhara? I would ask, but it looks like Kazuya isn't here today." Both Kazuya and Houshou were being kept late at the police station to investigate further into the matter of the bomb.

He shrugged. "I have no idea."

Masako and I glanced at each other. Kazuya had said he was just 'investigating the graffitist' when he had found the bomb. There was no way he would tell them the real story.

As for me, I was still shell-shocked about the fact the bomb was found on there. Kazuya had been right. This meant I had ESP. I couldn't wrap my head around it. I was…psychic. How was that even possible? I was pretty sure I hadn't been possible for the past 15 years of my life, so why now?

"…Mai. Mai." I hadn't even noticed that John was trying to talk to me.

"S-Sorry?"

"You look a little pale. Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.

"I-I'm fine. I was just thinking about, well, you know. The bomb. Why would someone do that to Yasuhara's boat?"

At my remark, an older man called out, "Well, Hideharu isn't exactly overflowing with popularity, you know? With a temper like his!"

Everyone laughed, including Yasuhara, who didn't seem abashed or angered by people making fun of his father.

"Still, it's a good job the police managed to find that bomb before the boat went out to sea." John commented. "If they hadn't found it, and the boat had gone to sea…"

Ayako chuckled to herself, pouring out a beer for someone. "Well, that graffitist deserves a well done! If the boat hadn't been graffitied, and hadn't been grounded while the paint was being removed, then I think we'd be telling a very different story here."

Everyone murmured in agreement.

"Still…" Yasuhara sighed. "Who would do this to our boat? To any of the fishing boats?"

"Isn't it obvious?" An old man called out. He was bald, and missing a few teeth. He worked in a local crafts shop, and I think his name was Kenshou Imura. "Someone has a grudge against the whole fishing industry around here. Not just an individual fisher. The fishing community must have done something real bad."

Yasuhara glared at him. "Excuse me, but my family happens to work in the fishing industry. I hope you have a reason for believing that."

"Aye, I do." He laughed, and drank some beer. "But I don't have the whole story."

We all stared at him. Ayako sighed. "Don't just sit there being melodramatic, Imura. Tell us what you think."

He drained his glass. "Give me another beer and I'll comply."

Rolling her eyes, Ayako poured one out, and passed it to me. When I gave it to him, he took a long drink from it, almost draining it completely.

"…It was fifteen years ago." He began. "Now, I don't know _all _the details. I'm only a humble crafter. But…" He lowered his voice. "…There was a _murder_ in this town."

Everyone was silent as he continued. "A dreadful murder. Three people were killed. The police investigated, but the killer was never found. And the people who died…" He grinned. "…were fishermen. Now, fifteen years later, more deaths are occurring in the fishing industry. I think someone is carrying on where they finished off last time."

The idea gave me chills. "B-But that was fifteen years ago! Why wait all this time?"

"Who knows?" He drained his glass again. "I'm no detective. Just giving the facts, that's all."

"You don't think…" Masako frowned. "…You don't think there's going to be another murder, do you?"

Kenshou Imura laughed. "…I hope you haven't forgotten the boats that sunk!" Again, he lowered his voice, seeing his audience were captivated by his words. "…I'm afraid there already _has_ been a murder."

* * *

That night, I didn't sleep particularly well. My thoughts were entirely on the sinking boat, the murder from fifteen years ago and, of course, the matter of my apparent ESP.

If I had ESP, then the person with the mermaid tattoo…had they been the one to put the bomb on Yasuhara's boat? Had they been responsible for the sinking of all the other boats?

When I finally managed to drift to sleep, I slept a restless and dreamless sleep. If I really did have ESP, which was looking like a realer possibility by the minute, then it didn't seem to be acting that night.

The next morning, when I had completed my paper round, I walked down to the pier to see what was going on. A small speed boat had gone out to sea, and, seeing the police cars parked on the pier, I guessed that the police had gone out to find some more evidence.

"I thought I'd find you here." I turned to see Masako walking towards me.

I sighed. "…Yeah…"

"How have you been?"

"To be honest, I'm still pretty freaked out about the whole ESP thing." I admitted.

"That's understandable." Masako looked out to sea. "I wonder if they'll lock down the pier completely."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, someone tried to blow up and sink Yasuhara's boat. I wouldn't be surprised if the police wanted to stop anyone else from going out there, in case something happens to them."

"Oh…" I sighed. "Sinking ships, murder, bombs…so much for the 'quiet little Irish town' as a tourist destination, huh? 'Sea, sand and sun' and all that."

Masako nodded. "In all seriousness, this could have a very bad effect on the town's income. If tourism falls too much, we could be in trouble."

For a moment, we were both silent, staring out to sea as we thought about the dilemmas in our town. Finally, I spoke up.

"…The man I saw entering the boat had a tattoo." I told her. "A tattoo of a mermaid. If we can find someone with that tattoo, we can stop all this."

Masako sighed. "Mai, we would need more proof for that. Remember, it was in your dream. The police aren't going to believe that."

I looked at her. "There's one person who will."

* * *

Sitting nervously with Masako at the police station in the waiting room, we waited to speak with Kazuya while he 'attended another business', according to the receptionist.

"Hmmm…" It's a little dim in here." Masako remarked, looking up at the lights, one of which was broken.

"Yeah, they still haven't fixed that broken one. It was like that last time I came here."

"When have you been here?" Masako asked curiously.

"When Houshou forgot his badge." I smirked.

"Ah, yes. I remember that." Masako smiled, as if it was a fond memory.

"Oh, hey Masako, Mai." We looked over to see Yasuhara walking in and taking a seat opposite us. "What're you doing here?"

"I could ask the same!" I grinned. "Haven't been doing drugs, have you?"

"No. Just here to talk to the officers about the whole bomb thing." He said it very casually. "I hear that there aren't many leads right now – they're still testing wreckage from the previous boats that sunk for signs of sabotage – so they're trying to be as thorough as they can."

"Oh…wait, how do you know that?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, dad has ties with the police."

"Your father? I thought he was a fisherman." Masako spoke up.

"Oh, well, back in the day, he used to be an officer around here."

"Oh…" As I put my hand into my pocket, my fingers brushed something sharp.

"Oh yeah." I pulled out the scale I had found the other day. "I was wondering, what fish does this belong to?"

I passed over the scale to Yasuhara, who adjusted his glasses jokingly, pretending to look professional.

"Let me see…" He peered at it. "…Huh. That's weird."

"What is it?" Masako asked, intrigued.

"It's just…well, I could be wrong here, but I do know my fish pretty well…this looks like it comes from a Blue Marlin."

"A…Blue Marlin?" I waited for him to elaborate.

"Yeah. They're these huge fish, and they're really fast. They look a little like a sailfish or a swordfish."

A vague image formed in my mind. "Oh. I didn't think you found those around here."

"Well, you don't." Yasuhara told me bluntly. "That's the Irish sea out there."

"Really? I did not know that." I said sarcastically.

"My point is, they live in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific ocean. The climate around here is pretty cold, to say the least. Where did you find this?" He asked, passing it back to me.

"Just on the pier. That's pretty weird…"

At that moment, the door opened, and Madoka Mori came walking in.

"Dear me…" She muttered crossly to herself. "There's no need to be so tight-lipped…"

I waved at her. "Hi! What're you doing here, Ms Mori?"

She sighed. "I was talking to that young man, trying to get some info on what's going on around here, but he wasn't willing to divulge any information."

I glanced at Masako. That was probably Kazuya.

* * *

Soon, we found ourselves at the office that my brother and Kazuya shared. Houshou's desk was empty, but Kazuya was typing away with a frustrated look on his face.

"Um…hi." I waved nervously, and he looked up.

"Oh, hello." He did not stop typing. "Can I help you?"

Masako and I glance at each other. "…We want to talk."

"Please, take a seat."

Nervously, we sat down opposite him.

"…Well…" I took a breath. "…I have…I have ESP, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, you do."

"Well, I know I can't exactly say this to any other officer, but…I could help, couldn't I? Help with the case. I helped find that bomb, right?"

"…So, you want to assist me in tracking down whoever placed that bomb on the ship?"

"Yeah! We can both help." I gestured to Masako. "I mean, she can see ghosts and stuff –"

"Wait." Kazuya interrupted, staring at Masako in surprise. "You're a _medium_?"

Masako nodded nonchalantly, but I couldn't help but notice the small smile on her face.

"So, you see? We can help! Just…we can't really help the other officers here because they won't believe us…"

Kazuya thought about it for a while, his brow harrowed as he muttered softly to himself, deep in thought. Finally, he finished soliloquising, and nodded.

"I agree it would be beneficial to have you two helping me. But what do you want out of it?"

"Huh?"

"Most people don't offer help without an ulterior motive."

I felt somewhat angry at this. "W-Wha…We just want to solve this case before anyone else is killed, jackass! Do you really think we'd be asking for money when people are dying?!"

At my furious outburst, Kazuya was quiet for a moment.

"…I see. I apologise." He finally spoke up. "That was insensitive of me."

Taking a breath, I nodded. "…I'm sorry for shouting."

Masako was looking between us with an amused expression on her face. "…Now. Back to the matter of these sinking boats."

"Oh, yeah." I thought back to my dream. "In my dream, I saw someone with a mermaid tattoo getting on the ship."

"A mermaid tattoo? I suppose you don't know anyone here with a mermaid tattoo, do you?"

I shook my head, disappointed. "No…though we heard something interesting yesterday at SPR."

"I'm sorry, SPR?" Kazuya asked, looking puzzled.

"Seagull's Point Restaurant. It's just easier to say SPR. Less wordy, you know?" I explained.

Kazuya frowned. "Hm. I see. It makes it sound like a police agency though, doesn't it? Or some kind of research group."

"A research group? Who would have a research group called SPR?" I remarked.

"Anyway," Masako interrupted our digression, "we heard something about a murder that occurred here fifteen years ago. Three people died, apparently. You don't happen to have any information about that, do you?"

"No. That's strange." Kazuya frowned. "I was looking through the case files stored here, and I didn't see any information of a spree killing."

"Oh. Maybe the archives here don't go back that far?" I wondered.

"No, there are case files dating back further than that." Kazuya looked thoughtful. "Interesting…Who told you about this murder?"

"Uh…some old guy at SPR."

"Kenshou Imura." Masako explained. "He's a crafter, apparently."

"I see. I would like to speak to Mr Imura. I think it would be useful to find out more about this fifteen year old murder."

"Do you think it could be important?" I asked.

Kazuya frowned thoughtfully. "…What do you think?"

"Eh?!"

"You're the one with ESP. What do you think?"

"U-Um…" Feeling pressured now, I fell quiet, thinking hard about it. A murder fifteen years ago…three fishermen were killed…yet there was no record of it in the local station…maybe that old man was mistaken. Maybe there was no murder. But…

"…Yes." I just couldn't shake the feeling that this murder had some kind of link to the incidents that had happened recently. "…I think it's important."

"I see. Well, shall we find this Mr Imura?"

"Yeah." The sooner we found out about this murder from fifteen years ago, the better.


	6. Chapter 6: The Weather Forecast

**(A/N): This chapter was annoying to write.**

**The craft shop that Imura works in is actually a real shop, and the items described were there when I went. Incidentally, I actually bought the Muiredach's High Cross earrings. They're very nice.**

**I hate it in Ghost Hunt when they randomly have shouting matches in random places. It irritates me.**

**If anyone here reads 'The Artefact', and is wondering why I'm not updating, I will be updating soon, I promise.**

**If you're enjoying this story, I would really like it if you'd review. Wink wink.**

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"So, you don't happen to know where he lives, do you?"

We had gone to SPR, in search of the restaurant's most regular customer. Again, it was pretty empty, with only a few regulars seeking shelter from the outside rain, which had started with no warning like usual.

Ayako, standing behind the bar, sighed. "Why? You're not going to visit him, are you?"

"We just want to ask him a few questions about something he mentioned last night." Kazuya explained. He had invited me along in case any of the information caused me to have a 'vision'. It was still so surreal to me, it made me a bit nervous, so I had insisted that Masako come with us.

"About that murder?" Ayako put down the glass she had been drying. "I wouldn't trust too much of what Mr Imura says, you know. He tends to exaggerate a lot."

"Still, we'd like to hear what he has to say." Kazuya insisted.

"Ok…well, I'll take you there. I need to do some grocery shopping anyway, so I might as well show you the way."

Kazuya began to protest. "I don't think we really have time for –"

I nudged him hard in the ribs. "Don't anger her. It's scary." I hissed.

Thankfully, he fell quiet, as Ayako called for one of the waiters on call to cover for her.

"Is she really that scary?" Kazuya muttered to me as she quickly slipped off her apron.

"Haven't you seen the way she can turf out men twice her size?" I whispered back.

"Well, then, shall we go?" Ayako called to us cheerfully, halfway out the door and oblivious to the hushed conversation we were having.

* * *

Outside, it was still pouring down with rain, and the puddles on the ground were already deep and wide. The scent of rain mixed in with salt from the ocean was unusual, but refreshing.

"Ugh. Stupid rain." Standing at the entrance for the Seagull's Point Restaurant, Ayako pulled out her umbrella. "It's terrible for my hair."

Kazuya sighed. "I hardly think that your hair –"

"Do you have a _death wish_ or something?!" I hissed, nudging him hard again.

"Hm? Sorry?" Ayako glanced over.

"Nothing!" I waved my hands nervously. "Nothing. Everything's fine. Now, um…shall we go?"

"Yeah. Actually, I want to stop off at Madoka's shop, if you don't mind."

Kazuya looked as if he did mind, very much, but he didn't say so. Thus, we ended up standing outside Madoka's shop in the pouring rain while Ayako bought some groceries.

Standing under his umbrella, Kazuya sighed heavily.

"This is ridiculous." He muttered. "I should be able to make suggestions or criticize people without fear of being injured. Now where are we? Stuck outside a corner shop in the rain!"

"Well, there's a difference between making a suggestion and being rude." I told him. "Ayako doesn't like the latter."

"Still, we shouldn't have to be waiting like this!" He insisted. "We should have just asked for directions!"

"She knows Mr Imura better than we do, so she'll probably get the info we need out of him easier than we would." I retaliated. "Plus, she's got to be efficient every time she goes out. She has to spend loads of time working at SPR, so she needs to be efficient every time she goes out."

"She's right, you know." Masako agreed. "She works full time there, you know that."

Kazuya sighed again, this time in defeat rather than irritation.

"…I suppose so."

At that moment, the door opened. We turned, expecting Ayako.

"Uh-oh." I muttered under my breath.

"Shibuya?" It was my brother, sounding outraged. "What are you doing?! I've been trying to ring you for the past hour! I told you to meet me at the forensics lab! Why didn't you show up?!"

"I was busy." Kazuya replied nonchalantly.

Houshou noticed me and Masako, and his anger increased. "What, hanging around with these two? That's my _sister_, you know!"

I rolled my eyes at my brother's over-protective nature.

"They're helping me." Kazuya told him simply.

"What? Wait, you go to two high school students for help, and not me? _Your partner_?!"

"I didn't know where you were."

"I was at the lab, waiting for _you_!"

I groaned quietly to Masako.

"This is grand, isn't it?"

"I really wish they wouldn't cause a scene." Masako sighed.

"Tell me about it."

"…and after I was shouted at, I was called here to talk to some 'journalist' who is too nosy for her own good! For _half an hour_!" I assumed he was talking about Madoka Mori, and I hoped she hadn't heard his rather unflattering description of her.

"You mean Ms Mori? I've already spoken to her."

"Wait…are you sure? She said she hadn't been able to speak to an officer yet…"

"I did talk to her. She lied, clearly."

Houshou groaned. "Right. We are going back right now. I need to tell you something."

"Well, we're actually in the middle of something." Kazuya protested.

"I'm coming with you, then! I'm not just going to let you wander off by yourself, you know!"

Kazuya glared at him. "…Fine."

"Now." Houshou let out a breath. "What is this all about?"

"We're looking for a man called Kenshou Imura. He knew some information about a case fifteen years ago where three fishermen were killed."

Houshou looked a little sceptical. "Why are you so interested about it? Do you think it really could have some relation to our current case?"

"Well, I was right about the sinking fishing boats, wasn't I? I said that it was far too coincidental for four boats to sink within two weeks, and I was right, so why do you doubt me now?"

Houshou sighed. "…Well, I guess you were right about that…the lab looked over the various pieces of wreckage we recovered, and they think that all the boats that sunk were caused by a bomb. They found some traces of explosives on the debris. Someone really has been targeting the fishing industry."

Kazuya smiled smugly. "Didn't I say?"

"Hey, don't act so cocky." Houshou growled. "People don't like cockiness."

At that moment, the door opened, and this time Ayako really did come out.

"…Oh." She looked at the scene with Houshou and Kazuya glaring at each other hostilely. "Well, I'm done. Shall we go?"

Neither of them replied, so I spoke up. "Yeah, sure!"

As we walked, Ayako leant over to me.

"What's with those two?" She asked. They weren't glaring at each other anymore, but the air was still tense with animosity.

"I don't know, they're just drama queens who are being stupid and proud, you know?" I glanced back at them. "They just shout at each other a lot and fail to sort out their differences, so shout at each other even more."

Ayako scoffed. "That's stupid."

"I think they like shouting at each other." Masako added. "They seem to enjoy the drama."

"Yeah…" To be honest, it was a little embarrassing, those two shouting at each other in the streets. If they had some common sense, they could have at least waited until they were somewhere private. Madoka had probably heard the whole thing, too. I could almost imagine tomorrow's paper: 'Case Halts to a Standstill as Police Spend Time Quarrelling instead of Working.'

* * *

Eventually, Ayako led us to a small shop on the edge of the town, up a hill that was tricky to walk on because of the wet tarmac surface. In my flat shoes that had no grip whatsoever, I slipped several times on the way up, even though the hill wasn't particularly large at all. By the end, I just grabbed onto Houshou's arm for support.

"This is it." When we finally got to the top, Ayako stepped inside the shop.

"Hi, Mr Imura." She called. "I've brought some people who want to talk to you."

Curiously, I glanced around the shop. It was filled with what must have been home-made produce, from scarves to potter and notebooks to necklaces.

"Wow." I looked at a shelf that was filled with jewellery made out of cutlery. "This is all homemade?"

"Aye. Take your time." I looked behind me to see Kenshou Imura sitting at his desk, writing out prices. "Feel free to have a look."

"Actually," Kazuya walked over to him, "I would like to ask you some –"

"Do you like this?" Kenshou Imura passed him a scarf. "Made from Irish Texel wool." It'll warm you up nicely in winter, it will."

"Uh…no thank you." Kazuya put it down. "Now, could I –"

"Or how about this?" Imura held up a pair of small earrings, shaped like Muiredach's High Cross. "A nice present, eh? Hand-crafted, you know."

"I'm not here to browse, I'm here –"

"What about you, eh?" He looked at my brother, who in turn looked away, looked back, then pointed at himself nervously.

"Me? Sorry, what?"

"How about a lovely present for your girlfriend?" He held up a black string necklace with a small jar on the end; it had a cork stopper, and small hearts inside.

"Uh, no, I'm sorry, I really –"

"Oh, are you one of _those_ types, eh? Ayako, what do the young'uns call it?"

"Batting for the other team." She informed him.

"Aye, that's the one."

Houshou looked as if he didn't have the energy to put up with this. "I'm not in a relationship. I'm sorry, but I'm not here to –"

"How about this?" He went about picking up another ware, and Kazuya and Houshou looked as if they were either going to scream or cry.

"Ok, ok. That's enough." Ayako stepped in. "You've had your fun. Now, we want to ask some questions, if that's alright with you?"

Miraculously, Kenshou Imura didn't interrupt. Instead, he laughed loudly, revealing his gums that were short of a fair few teeth.

"Aye, it's grand. Now, what do you want to ask?"

Kazuya managed to speak, despite his irritation. "I was told that you spoke of an incident that happened fifteen years ago. A murder."

"That I did."

"Could you tell me more about it?"

Imura calmly started reading through some receipts. "…It happened on the 20th October..." He broke off dramatically.

Kazuya waited in anticipation. "…Well?"

Imura glanced at him blankly. "Well, what?"

"What happened?"

"Three people were murdered."

"I knew that. Do you know anything else?"

"Ach, no." Imura frowned at Kazuya. "Why would _I_ know? I'm just a humble crafter."

Kazuya didn't reply. I think he was restraining himself from killing Imura.

"Now, someone who _would_ know…" Imura went on, "You know that light house keeper?"

My heart sank as Kazuya replied, "Do you mean Mr Lin?"

"Aye, that's the one. Now, he was friends with some of those fishermen who were killed. Word has it, he's the only one here who knows the full details."

Kazuya didn't reply again. He looked too angry to say a word.

"Now, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Masako stepped forwards rather sheepishly, aware of Kazuya's foul mood.

"…I'd like to buy these earrings, please."

* * *

The rain had not stopped when we stepped outside, and neither had Kazuya's annoyance.

"What a waste of time."

"Hey." Houshou was frowning. "You never told me. Why are you two here?" He looked to me and Masako.

There was a moment of silence as we stared at each other in alarm, hastily trying to think of an excuse; we couldn't exactly say it was because I had ESP.

"Um…you know, I have a more important question right now." I said quickly. "How are we going to talk to Lin? I don't want to. He's scary."

"Hm. That is a question." Kazuya agreed swiftly, taking advantage of the conversation change. "I don't even know where he lives."

I gave him a look and pointed to the very obvious light house that stood a little way out to sea.

"Ah, yes. Good point. Well, how about you do it, Ayako?"

Ayako flicked her hair behind her shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry, I have to go back to SPR." She began to walk away, waving cheerily at us. "Have fun talking to the antisocial light house owner!"

"Damn." Houshou scratched his head. "I don't really wanna talk to him. He kept on giving me the evils when I went to SPR a few nights ago."

"What do we do, then?" Masako asked.

We considered it for a few moments, the only sound being the rain pounding on the tarmac.

"Oh, I know!" I suddenly realised. "Why don't we ask John? Those two are friends."

"Really?" Kazuya sounded surprised. "You mean that Australian waiter? They don't look like they'd be friends."

"I know, right?"

"Well, how about I text him?" Houshou got out his phone.

"Ooooh." I smiled snidely. "You have his number! How romantic!"

"Shut up."

* * *

Eventually, we found John hiding under a bus stop, looking anxiously up into the black sky as the rain continued. Every now and again, he would glance nervously at his phone, then the sea, before staring at the sky again.

"Hey." When Houshou called over, he jumped a little. "What's wrong?"

"Oh!" John stood up quickly, knocking over his bag in his haste. Hastily, he picked it up, abashed. "Houshou! Hi! I-I was caught in the rain without an umbrella. I'm still not used to this weather. It rains without warning." This was very true. In Ireland, it was prone to raining very quickly, even on a sunny day.

"Hello, John." Kazuya interrupted their conversation.

"Oh, so you're Kazuya Shibuya? Nice to meet you." John held out his hand. Kazuya shook it curtly, his face solemn and professional.

"Likewise. Now, I have a favour to ask you." His tone reminded me of a business man, or a banker.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?"

We all paused, and looked at each other sheepishly. How were we going to say this without sounding like wimps?

"Well, we'd like to speak with your friend, Lin. The light house keeper." Kazuya attempted. "But we don't know where he lives."

Puzzled, John slowly pointed to the light house by the pier.

"Ah, I see." Kazuya scowled, embarrassed at making the same mistake twice. "Of course."

"Ok." I decided I might as well tell the truth. "…We need to talk to Lin, but…frankly, we're a bit worried. It seems Lin doesn't like talking to people. So…we were wondering if you would help us, since you two are friends."

"Oh, I see." John didn't look scornful, so it seemed our worries had been pointless. "I'll help you. I'm sure he'll be happy to talk to you, though."

Somehow, I doubted it. "Thanks. We really owe you one."

John smiled, and peered out at the rain. "Well, I don't suppose you have an umbrella I could borrow, do you?"

Houshou offered his. "Here, share with me."

I watched them in shock as we began to walk, with John leading the way to the pier, which seemed to be the access point for the light house.

"What is it?" Masako whispered to me, noticing my expression.

"…How?" I asked. "How is this happening?"

Masako glanced at my brother and John, walking together under the umbrella together.

"I don't understand."

"That!" I hissed, pointing at them. "It's the most clichéd, overused plot device I've ever seen! I've seen it happen in TV shows, in films, in fanfic and stuff, but it's not meant to happen in _real life_! It's just too…clichéd!" I reused the word to emphasise my point.

Masako considered this. "I suppose it does seem something out of a high school romance anime, but I still don't see what the problem is."

Kazuya decided to join in the conversation, while the other two were completely oblivious of the discussion behind them "Do you have something against romance between two people of the same gender?"

"No, no, of course not! That's not the problem. The problem is, they met when they crashed into each other and John dropped his shopping. Now, they're sharing an umbrella. It's like they're in some kind of romance fanfic written by a teenager with nothing better to do with her life!"

"I think it's quite cute." Masako admitted. "Are you jealous?"

I scoffed. "No. But I'm telling you, next minute they'll be running into each other at a café, or one will fall asleep at the other one's place, or they'll reach for the TV remote at the same time and accidentally hold hands –"

"And there will be a big argument at some point," Masako joined in excitedly, "and then one of them will try to leave, and the other will chase after them dramatically because neither of them want to be apart,"

"Exactly." I concluded. "I'm telling you, that's what's going to happen."

Kazuya rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt that. This is reality, not a romance story."

"Wanna bet?"

"Ok. 5 euro for each event you just described.

"10."

"Deal." We shook hands on it.

Eventually, we reached the pier, which wasn't too far away from the light house. However, we still needed to use a boat to get across; in the end, we took a small boat across, which John informed us belonged to Lin. The journey was extremely unpleasant, what with the rain and the rough water, though when we reached the door of the light house, I wanted nothing more than to get onto that boat again and sail away from the tower.

"What exactly do you need to ask him?" John asked curiously as he fumbled at the key hole.

Houshou coughed nervously, before answering with an attempted professional tone, "We want to talk to him about a case."

"Oh, about the boats sinking?"

Houshou frowned. "…How did you know?" I was pretty sure there was some kind of rule about not divulging information to civilians, but no one seemed to care.

"Well, there are only two cases going on right now: that graffitist and the sinking boats. I took a guess."

There was truth to that – nothing ever really happened here, so it probably hadn't been hard to guess.

At last, he managed to get the door open. "Follow me." He beckoned us in. I took one last look outside, trying to shake the feeling that we were walking into the house of a serial killer or something, and followed him inside.

It was a long walk to the top, and soon, I was completely out of breath.

"Wow." I panted. "I am really unfit."

"I'm not unfit, and I'm exhausted." Houshou called back to me.

"Don't worry, we're almost there." John reassured us, although if anything, I found this discomforting. "It's just a little further." Unlike the rest of us, he wasn't panting at all. He must have walked up these stairs a lot to be used to the effort.

Eventually, we reached the top, and I was ready to collapse on the floor. Without hesitation, John knocked on the door.

"Lin, it's me." He called. No one answered, but that didn't seem to affect him; he opened the door anyway.

From the doorway, I peered into the room, which was large and spacious, but also quite bare. Around the edges of the room, I could see a cluster of computers with various monitors, screens, dials and buttons that looked far too complicated to use. The rest of the room looked like a kitchen, with a small table, a fridge and other various cooking utensils. There was no real heating, so I found myself shifting from foot to foot to try and keep warm.

A man was sitting, facing the computers and not bothering to look behind him. From his height alone, I knew immediately who it was – Lin Koujou.

"Hi, Lin!" John called cheerily, walking into the room with ease. The mountain of a man turned to look. At first, his face was neutral, but when he saw us, it hardened.

"…Who's there?" He asked darkly.

"These are my friends." John explained, then looked at us, puzzled. "…You can come in, you know."

None of us had been brave enough to actually enter the room and had instead been standing in the doorway. Sheepishly, we shuffled inside.

"This is Mai and Masako." John introduced us. "We work together at SPR." Neither of us said anything, and Lin did not offer a greeting.

"And this is Houshou and Kazuya. They work with the police."

He still didn't say anything, so Houshou coughed and walked forwards.

"I'm here to ask a few questions about an incident that happened 15 years ago."

Lin scowled, and glanced over at John, who nodded encouragingly.

"…Why do you want to know?" It was probably the longest sentence I had heard him say.

Houshou hesitated. I wondered if he was reluctant to tell Lin – a civilian, and a particularly scary one at that – about the recent lead.

"…It's about the person who's been trying to blow up those boats, isn't it?" Lin guessed.

My brother avoided the question. "I would appreciate it if you would cooperate."

Lin grunted, as if he had proved a point, and stood up, walking over to a fridge.

"Sit down." He instructed gruffly, taking out a beer.

John sighed. "I don't think you should be drinking while you're working, Lin."

We stared at him in horror. How would Lin, who I wouldn't have been surprised if he turned out to be a serial killer, react to such blatant criticism?

"…I'm not drinking much." Oh. Somehow, I wasn't sure if I felt relieved or a little disappointed by the anti-climax. "Could you feed my cats for me?" Strangely, his voice was very soft when he spoke to John, like a gentle pattering of rain, yet when he spoke to us, it was as rough as the sea against the rocks.

"Now." He sat down, facing Kazuya and Houshou, who looked extremely nervous. "You wanted to know about the murders 15 years ago?"

"Yes." Houshou took out a pen and paper. "We were informed you knew about it."

I felt a little awkward standing by the edge, and I'm sure Masako felt the same; I didn't want to feel like I was eavesdropping in on the conversation, but John had disappeared somewhere, and I didn't want to leave without an excuse.

"Hey." Masako tugged my sleeve and leant over quietly. "You should listen to this. It could be of importance."

"…It was in October. On 20th , in the morning, a fisherman by the name of Akefumi Yoshimi was found dead in his house. Drowned in his own sink. Four days later, his brother was found hanging from the rafters of his house. Hanging from a noose." He gestured to his neck, and I shuddered. "Finally, four days after that, the police found their uncle lying in his bed, dead. Stabbed. Right through the heart."

Masako tapped my shoulder urgently. "Mai. Four days apart."

"Hm?" I frowned in puzzlement.

"That's the same as the boat sinkings – four days apart!"

My eyes widened. "No way!" If that was the case, there was no way these two cases weren't related.

"Does anyone know why these fishermen were murdered?" Kazuya asked.

Lin shrugged noncommittally. "No. The police investigated, but the culprit was never found. The murderer didn't strike again, and the case went cold. I tried to investigate the incident myself, but all the records are gone."

"Gone? What do you mean?" Kazuya asked.

"They're gone. There are no traces of the incident. No police report, no new article. Nothing. Now," He stood up. "I've told you what I know. I have to work."

Without another word, he walked back over to his chair facing the computers, sat down, and began to work. Sighing, Houshou stood up, putting away his notebook.

"Thank you for your time." He said, unenthusiastically. "We'll leave now."

"Oh, you're leaving?" John entered the room again, this time with a tortoiseshell cat purring loudly in his arms, and two more mewing loudly at his feet, rubbing against his legs.

Kazuya looked like he was going to protest, but Houshou spoke before he could.

"Yes. Thank you for taking us here. Would you mind helping us to get back?"

* * *

The rain had finally stopped outside, but the clouds were still thick and dark. Heat lingered over us heavily, and the ocean waves rolled back and forth hungrily. The humid weather was unpleasant, and the sea itself seemed to recoil and anger at the stale air. All the seabirds had flown inland, seeking shelter from what would undoubtedly be another storm, and even from the pier, it was clear that tonight, the ocean would be restless.

"We need to keep investigating this." Kazuya announced to Houshou, who sighed.

"…I'm sorry, Shibuya, but I don't see a relation between these two cases."

"What are you talking about? Both serial killings had a four day gap between each killing, and both involved the murders of fishermen. What more do you want?"

"Well, for one, why was there a fifteen year gap?" Houshou pointed out. "Why did our killer, if they are the one responsible for the murder fifteen years ago, wait all this time before striking again? Why attack now, today? No one here is even related to the Yoshimi family. Why attack Yasuhara's family?"

Kazuya fell into angry silence. He couldn't answer the question.

"…Exactly. Now, we have other work to be doing, not wasting our time on this." He turned, and began walking off the pier, back to the centre of town. "Come on. We need to get back to the station."

Kazuya hesitated before following reluctantly, casting one last glance back at the two of us. As we watched them go, Masako turned to me.

"What do you think?" She asked. "Your brother has a convincing argument."

I contemplated it for a minute. It was true that Houshou had some valid points – if the murderer from fifteen years ago was the same person who put the bombs in the boats, why would they wait all this time? An entire fifteen years? And why did they decide to attack these past two weeks? Why try and sink Yasuhara's boat?

Still, there were some clear links, too, like the four day gaps between each murder, or the fact the fishing industry had been targeted. Surely that wasn't a coincidence.

I bit my lip. There was something I just couldn't shake about the murders in the Yoshimi family. Not dissimilar to the clouds rolling over the town and out to the horizons, preparing for yet another lashing of rain, I had a strong feeling of a danger hanging above our heads. The bombs in the fishing boats was a mere drizzle of rain; someone was getting ready to unleash real chaos, and let loose a storm on this village that would leave carnage in its wake, picking up from where they left fifteen years ago.

I let out a breath. "…My brother's wrong. I don't know why, but whoever killed those fishermen wasn't finished fifteen years ago. And I don't know why they've taken this long, but they're going to start again. I can feel it."

"Wait. You think there's going to be another murder?"

I nodded gravely. "Yeah. The boat murders were just a taster." I turned to her solemnly.

"What's coming is going to be much, much worse."


	7. Chapter 7: Arrival of the Storm

**(A/N): Sorry this was late; my laptop broke and had to be fixed, so even though I had written the chapter, I couldn't actually upload it.**

**By the way, Michiru and Keiko are Mai's friends from school (they appear in the first case arc and briefly in the anime version of Ghost Stories in the Park) and Noriko is 'Aunt Nori' from the Doll's House arc. Sekauchi is a character from the Forbidden Pastime arc, and Chiaki is a character from the After School Hexer arc. Finally, Kenji is a character from Silent Christmas. Everyone probably knows this, but just in case you forgot the names of the characters (I sometimes do).**

**You know what would be really nice? If you left a nice review. That would make me happy.**

**I'm not very good at throwing. My aim is alright, but I can't throw very far.**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter, and thanks for reading!**

* * *

It was a busy night at SPR, and I was struggling to spot Kazuya among the crowds of tourists.

"Any luck?" I asked Masako, who shook her head sadly.

"Maybe you can find him at the police force?" She suggested.

"No. If my brother's there, he won't want us talking, and he won't be happy if he hears Kazuya agree to take up the investigation again." This was the main reasons for my frustrated search for Kazuya: I needed to tell him to continue investigating the Yoshimi murders fifteen years ago. I had no evidence, just my instinct, and since he knew about my ESP, he would be the only one to believe me. However, I had reached the middle of my shift, and he was still nowhere to be seen. Where was he? I didn't want to have to contact him at the police station; my brother would probably be there, and I didn't want him nosing in on our conversation, especially since he was so sceptical about the link between the murders.

"Hey." I was snapped out of my thoughts by Yasuhara, who was tapping the table with his fingers impatiently. "You ok there?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm grand." I shook my head. "What can I get you?"

"Uh, I told you my order about three times." Yasuhara told me tiredly. "And I thought you'd be able to guess."

I smirked. "Oh, yeah. You really like _pear_ cider, don't you?"

He didn't look amused. "I hate pears."

"Um, I know that. That's why I said it. I was joking."

He sighed, sounding a little exasperated. "…I'm sorry. I'm just a little exhausted. My father is pissed because the police won't let him use the boat while they search for evidence, and he's been a pain in the ass all day because of it. I'm just a little…"

I understood. "Right. Sorry. I'm kind of…out of it, too."

He nodded, and smiled. "That's ok. Now," he gestured to my notepad, "I'd like an apple cider, please."

I tucked the notepad under my arm, not bothering to write down the order, and did a mock salute. "One apple cider, coming right up!"

Hurrying to the bar to pour out his order, I noticed Ayako was just returning from the nightly throwing out of the drunken man, dusting off her hands absent-mindedly.

A thought occurred to me, something John had told me. "Hey, Ayako."

"Hm?"

"You know that young officer? Kazuya Shibuya?"

She raised an eye brow. "The handsome British one with the foul mood?"

That wasn't an inaccurate description. "That's the one. He rents out a room here like John does, doesn't he?"

"He does. Why d'you ask?"

"There was something I needed to tell him, but he's not here."

"I'm not telling you his room number, if that's what you want." Ayako informed me briskly. "Sorry, but it's against my policy. Anyway," she looked past me and pointed to the front door, "he's here now."

Sure enough, Kazuya trudged into the restaurant, looking irate and fed up.

"Oh, Kazuya!" I called over, not caring for the people who stared at me. "Kazuya!"

He glanced at me briefly, but did not stop. Instead, he went straight to the inn section of the restaurant.

"Ouch." Ayako examined her chipped nails briefly before continuing to work. "That was a harsh rejection."

I scowled at her, and grabbed the apple cider, bringing it over to Yasuhara, who also had a smirk on his face.

"What was all that about?" He asked teasingly.

"Nothing." I muttered. "Hey, how can I find out what room he's in? I know Ayako won't tell me; she has that privacy policy."

"Hm…" Yasuhara thought carefully. "John might know. He rents a room here, too."

I looked quickly around – no one was waiting to be served, either having gotten their food or already being served by someone else – so I asked curiously,

"What's the deal with John? I mean, why did he come here? And why is he friends with the scary lighthouse keeper?"

Yasuhara frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I think it was…a year ago, actually, that I first saw him around here. I'm not sure where he was staying, but I would usually see him busking on the street."

"Busking?"

"Yeah. He'd sing. He has a pretty nice voice, and he didn't do too badly, especially in tourist season. Eventually, he got a job here. I have no idea why he's friends with Lin, or even why he came here in the first place."

I wondered what made him move all the way over from Australia to Ireland. "Hmm…well, anyway, I'll ask him about Kazuya's room number, then. I'm sure he'll tell me."

* * *

Nervously, I stood outside Seagull's Point Restaurant, tossing a pebble back and forth between my hands. The night was cold, and the wind tearing through the trees was shrill and eerie. The storm was in its height, and not a single warmth breath of life stirred outside the inn; everyone was inside, hiding away from the cold and the wet. It would be unwise to go outside in this weather – which was, incidentally, what I was doing.

John had told me the number of Kazuya's room, and now my shift was over, I couldn't get access to the rest of the inn. It was part of Ayako's policy again – only people who had booked a room and the cleaners could get into the inn. Instead, I was force to stand outside the window, shivering from the cold.

Carefully, I raised the pebble in my hands, and took aim. Kazuya's room was on the top floor, so I'd have to put a lot of force into my throw. My hands were so numb, I could barely feel them. With all my might, I threw forwards the stone.

It barely raised a metre off the ground before it fell to the floor.

"Crap." I hissed. I was not very good at throwing. Sighing in frustration, I decided to go with a less dramatic method.

"Kazuya!" I called up. "Kazuya, come here!"

After a moment or so of waiting, the window opened. Kazuya looked down, disgruntled.

"What are you doing?" He asked moodily. "Do you want to wake everyone up?"

"Kazuya, you have to continue investigating the Yoshimi murders!" I called up, ignoring his complaints.

He scowled. "No, I don't. I was wrong. It has nothing to do with the current case."

"It does! I can feel it!"

He hesitated, and leant on the window frame, looking down at me. "…You feel it?" He sounded very interested all of a sudden.

"Yeah. I have a really bad feeling about the bombs put in the boats, and I'm sure these incidents are related to the Yoshimi murders. I know it. I just…" I looked down at my feet, nudging the fallen pebble with my toes. "…you're the only person I can tell. You're the only one who will believe in my ESP. And I don't want anyone to get hurt."

There was a long pause as Kazuya contemplated this, while the wind continued screeching and howling in my ear, robbing me of my warmth.

"…How about this." Finally, Kazuya spoke up, having to raise his voice over the sound of the gale. "Right now, I can't just start investigating when I have other tasks I need to be doing, especially not with your brother watching me like a hawk. I'm going to need a bit more than a gut feeling on this one. But, if you have a dream, let's say, that means I can definitely find a link to the Yoshimi murders and the current situation, I'll investigate. What do you think?"

I rubbed my hands together as I considered the suggestion. On the one hand, I really wanted to get this case finished, to find out who the killer was before it escalated into something much darker. But…it was a lot to ask for just based on a gut feeling. And if I was wrong – it wasn't very long ago that I didn't even believe I had ESP – then I could cause a lot of problems.

"…Alright." I agreed. "If I have a dream tonight, I'll come see you at the police station tomorrow."

"That sounds good." He smiled. I realised suddenly that a warm smile on his lips was something I hadn't seen very often. It was a shame; a smile on his face looked much better than the scowl he always wore.

"I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"Y-Yeah, me too."

With that, Kazuya closed the window, leaving me in the cold wind with only the thought of his smile to warm me up.

* * *

The air is suddenly a lot stiller.

I look around myself. A dark room filled with unpacked boxes, coated in dust, lies before me. Various items have been strewn across the floor, some of them broken and trampled. A glass vase has been entirely smashed – the shards are lined with blood – and a book had been torn up and ripped.

I realise that there is someone in the room with me. The person is sitting at a table, one sleeve rolled up as they wind bandages round and around their hand. In the dim lights, I can see a calloused hand, a tanned arm, and a tattoo – a mermaid brushing her long, red hair.

The person stops bandaging their hand, and begins to leaf through a catalogue book of some kind, scouring the pages intently. Occasionally, they scribble something down ferociously, before diving back into the pages.

Finally, the person seems satisfied. They close the catalogue, and pick up something I did not notice before – a knife. Carefully twisting it back and forth, so that the light reflects on the blade, they chuckle to themselves, as if playing with a toy. Then they slam it down into the catalogue, skewing the blade through the pages.

* * *

I bolted upright in bed, panicked. A feeling of anxiety had gripped me suddenly. It was that dream…the person with that mermaid tattoo was going to do something very bad, I could tell. I had to tell Kazuya as soon as I could.

Hastily, I pulled on my clothes, gave my stubborn hair two strokes from my brush, and scrambled down the stairs, hitting my head as I did so.

"Crap!" I hissed, jumping from the second last step and dashing around the kitchen. Today, the kitchen was empty; I didn't have a paper round today, so I'd slept in, and Houshou had already gone to work. As I hurried around the kitchen, half way between urgency and grogginess, grabbing various pieces of fruit and stuffing them into my mouth, my eye fell on something lying on the counter – my brother's police badge.

"Man, again?!" I swiped it up. It looked like I was going to have to return this, too, while I was over at the station.

After a hazardous attempt of putting my shoes on while standing up, I grabbed the keys and left the house, locking the door behind me. It was eleven o'clock, and the day was much fresher and cooler than the previous night. All traces of the storm were gone, replacing the humid, overcast skies with a clearer, brighter blue. Only the wet ground and large puddles showed evidence of the raging weather that kept me company outside my window as I slept. The air was tangy with salt, and I breathed in the scent, allowing it to wake me up like a slap of fresh water. Once more, the seagulls were wheeling over the buildings, circling smoothly in ways that made them look as if they were both wandering aimlessly and gliding with purpose.

Fastening my helmet, I clambered onto my bike, pushing off and skidding precariously down the road with the all the grace of an inexperienced fledgling. Trying to get rid of the anxious feelings I'd had ever since waking up, I pedalled hard, the water spraying from the road into my face and my hair. It was much busier today than yesterday, and I had to be careful not to run into any cars.

On my way to the station, I stopped by Madoka's corner shop to grab some food, realising that the snatches of fruit I had taken would not be enough to sustain my energy until lunch. The shop was quite full today – or rather, it was so small, only a maximum of five people could fit in any one time. Leaving my bike chained up by the front door, I waited until some of the people had left before entering.

"Oh, hi Kenji!" I called to the shop assistant. Kenji was a shy young boy who worked at Madoka's shop. Today, he was looking a little flustered at the number of people who had been in the shop; he was fine with serving locals, but he disliked it when there were too many tourists, who were loud and not used to being served by someone who couldn't talk.

Kenji smiled, and signed a greeting, while I browsed the shelves, eventually settling for a handful of cereal bars. I put them on the counter, while he typed in the prices.

My eye fell on the newspaper rack, and I picked one up, leafing through the pages, wondering if anything had happened since last night, or if the bomb incident had been reported yet. After a look, I found a miniature column on it, giving a brief overview on the suspected murders that had been disguised as storm wreckage. The main page was swamped with pointless stories of petty politicians and the weather. However, one article did catch my attention:

"'Case Halts to a Standstill as Police Spend Time Quarrelling instead of Working'?!" I read out. The article went on to describe the incompetence of the local police department and how they had failed to realise there were murders happening right under their noses.

"Written by…Madoka Mori." I sighed, and put down the newspaper. "I should've known." She had probably heard Houshou and Kazuya slandering her outside the shop, and written this in revenge. I could almost imagine the fiery look in her eyes as she returned the favour.

I passed the newspaper to Kenji. "Hey, could I have this, too?"

* * *

"This is terrible…" Houshou groaned when I passed him the newspaper and he read the article. "The last thing we need…"

The station was very busy today, with various fishermen lining up at the receptionist, shouting complaints at her. I felt sorry for her as she struggled to maintain a calm composure.

"Oh, Mai!" When she saw me, her face brightened, happy for an excuse to ignore the impatient fishermen. "Are you looking for your brother?"

"Yeah, kind of." That wasn't actually my initial goal, but I needed to find him anyway. "Do you know where he is, Noriko?"

"He's in the back." Noriko leant over the desk, shooing away the insistent complainers with one hand. "Be nice; today is going to be a long day for him."

When I found my brother, he was sitting in a chair while Kazuya dabbed some antiseptic on his face.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?!" I explained, dropping my shopping bag on the floor and hurrying over to him. "Are you hurt?!"

Houshou chuckled bitterly. "I'm alright. Really." It looked like someone had punched him in the jaw.

"What's with all those people at the office? Poor Noriko is being overwhelmed by them."

"They're angry with us." Kazuya answered me. "Yesterday, we put an order to ground all boats, considering someone's been blowing them up. But, for the fishermen, it's a big blow to their business. They're complaining, saying we're 'incompetent'." He stepped back, wiping his hands on his trousers. "That by the time we catch the murderer, they'll have all gone out of business."

"Yeah. They weren't very happy." Houshou touched his jaw experimentally, wincing. "Then some eejit picked a fight."

"Oh…ouch. You got punched, then?"

"Yeah, by that fisherman who was yelling at us about the graffiti on his boat." Houshou growled.

"Oh, Yasuhara's dad? Hideharu or something?"

"That's the one."

I felt a little sorry for Yasuhara. "Oh, yeah." I took out the newspaper, and opened it to the right page. "This might be why people are calling you 'incompetent'."

Houshou took it from me, and had only read the title when he cried out in outrage, "What?!...incompetent…there'll be more bloodshed for sure – a whole ocean's worth by the time they get their act together…fishing industry will be severely damaged – who the hell wrote this?!"

I pointed to the name, and he scowled.

"Madoka Mori…damnit…" As Houshou scoured over the newspaper, I grabbed Kazuya and pulled him to one side.

"Kazuya, I had a dream last night." I whispered to him.

His eyes widened. "About the Yoshimi murders?"

"No. But something bad is going to happen. I think the murderer, whoever they are, is going to strike again."

"They won't be able to. We grounded all the boats."

This should have reassured me, but it didn't. "What if he goes for a different method? Like, I don't know, _stabbing someone to death_ or something?"

"Well, what happened in your dream?" He asked.

"This person with that mermaid tattoo again, they were looking through a catalogue or something, and writing stuff down. Then they got out a knife and stabbed the pages."

"Stabbed the pages?"

"Stabbed the pages." I confirmed.

"Did you see the catalogue?"

"I don't know…maybe it was Golden Pages or something?"

"Golden Pages?" Kazuya frowned. "Don't you mean Yellow Pages?"

I scoffed. "No, Golden Pages. We're not part of the UK anymore, remember?"

"Hey." Houshou called over, looking at us suspiciously. "What are you two whispering all confidentially about?"

I quickly searched my pockets, and took out his badge. "You left this again."

"Oh, man!" Houshou snatched it from me, and stared solemnly at Kazuya. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this."

Kazuya sighed, but agreed reluctantly. "…Fine."

* * *

Of course, all the news among the locals at SPR that night was of the grounded ships and, more avidly discussed, the fact Yasuhara's father had punched my brother.

"Can't believe it…I know everyone's angry about the grounding, but to punch an officer…"

"That Hideharu is the biggest gobshite I know!" I could hear brief snatches of conversation as I served busily, most of the discussions lost beneath the hubbub of the many tourists that had swarmed the restaurant today. None of them seemed fully aware of what was going on.

"What an eejit. But I understand why he was angry. Those policemen are barely worth their salt."

"They've got a kid working the case? Are they mad?"

"They're completely incompetent. There's going to be more bloodshed, mark my words. A whole ocean full by the time they get their act together, in fact!"

I could hear someone quoting directly from Madoka's article.

"This is great, isn't it?" Masako muttered when we had a moment to catch our breaths.

"Grand. Completely fantastic." I agreed sarcastically, cursing Madoka silently.

The door opened suddenly. "Sorry I'm late!" John called out to Ayako over the noise, before sidestepping quickly when he realised she was a lot closer than he had initially thought. She had the drunken man by the scruff.

"Go home!" She ordered angrily. "And stop causing problems at my restaurant!" After throwing him out viciously, she turned to John and smiled warmly. "That's fine. You go ahead and get changed."

He bowed his head thankfully, and hurried away. When he came back out, I beckoned him over urgently.

"Sorry I'm late." He apologised again.

"It's fine." I waved it off. "Actually, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure."

I jerked my head towards the window and lowered my voice. "Lin's there. I'm too scared of him to serve him." He was sitting in his usual spot, watching us intently with his normal steely gaze.

"Oh, of course." John was about to walk when I stopped him.

"Wait, you've got something on your collar." I plucked it off.

"Oh, thanks." He went over to Lin and talked to him with ease, while I pondered why I'd bothered to fuss over his appearance, considering my lack of caring about my own. Maybe Masako was rubbing off on me.

I looked at what I had picked off from his collar. It was one of those strange blue scales again.

"Huh." I shoved it in my pocket. I wonder why John had that caught on his collar?

Later on, as everyone piled together their tips – another good haul this evening – we found ourselves drifting onto the subject of the boat grounding.

"Hey, Mai. I heard your brother got punched." One of my fellow waitresses, Keiko, piped up.

I grimaced. "Yeah. Lots of people are annoyed about this whole grounding business."

"Oh, that's terrible." John looked to me, concerned. "Is your brother alright?"

"He's fine, but all the fishermen sure seemed angry."

"It's because they think the police will ground their boats until the bomber is found." Another waitress, Michiru, told me informatively. "And they think that the police will take too long, and that their businesses will be ruined."

"I see…" Masako frowned. "I wonder how Yasuhara is finding all of this…"

"He's probably hating it, between his dad being an eejit and everyone gossiping about it." I guessed.

Masako sighed. "Poor Yasuhara."

* * *

Having left the restaurant, shooing away the multitude of seagulls outside, I got on my bike and began a much more wary cycle home than normal, considering the stories of murderers. On the way, though, I stopped when I saw a familiar face hanging around outside Madoka's shop with two other youths I didn't recognise.

"Yasuhara?" He was looking moody and desolate, kicking a can repeatedly against the wall.

"Oh, hey Mai." Though his voice retained its normal cheeriness, it was very forced. "What're you doing here?"

"Heading home from work." I glanced at the two other people I didn't know, both leaning against the wall, one smoking a cigarette. "And these are…?"

They ignored me, so Yasuhara answered for me. "This is Sekauchi." He gestured to the smoking teenager who looked up and nodded briefly. His face was pale and pasty, and his clothes reeked of a certain illegal substance that I'm sure would've made my brother have a hissy fit and do ten different drug tests on the boy.

"And this is Chiaki." He gestured to the other, a girl with a shock of green hair and heavily applied mascara. There was a sharpness about her face that made her appearance quite shocking in the moonlight, with her long black nails and her nose piercing, yet also a little intimidating.

"They're my friends." Somehow, I couldn't imagine Yasuhara being friends with them, but then again, John was friends with Lin. In fact, I felt I was not one to criticise things for being 'unlikely' when I had just discovered I had ESP a few days ago.

"Oh. Nice to meet you." They didn't say anything, so I turned back to Yasuhara. "So, how're you doing?"

He shrugged. "Fine. Why d'you ask?" He seemed reluctant to talk about anything related to today's incidents in front of Chiaki or Sekauchi, so I didn't ask further.

"No reason."

"Hey, do you and Masako wanna hang out some time?" Yasuhara asked, wanting to change the subject quickly.

"Yeah, sure. How about…" I trailed off. That feeling overcame me again, powerful and gripping me tightly like an ice cold wave.

"Mai, are you ok?" Yasuhara asked, looking at me with concern.

"Y-Yeah, yeah, sorry. Um…how about the day after tomorrow?" I struggled to speak with the intense anxiety overcoming me like it had that morning. Without waiting for an answer, I stammered hastily,

"W-Well, I'll um, I-I'll see you then." With that, I hurried away, cycling down the streets as fast as I could. It was suddenly vital that I go to Piccolo Corelli, though why I needed to go there, I had no idea. I just let my feet push the pedals.

The fresh air of the night cooled me pleasantly as I finally skidded to a halt on the street where Piccolo Corelli was located, my sweat evaporating into the air and leaving a cold trace behind on my skin. For a moment, I peered into the darkness that was only a banished by the occasional street lamp or lighted shop window.

My eye fell on the silhouette of someone walking rapidly down the street, nervously looking over her shoulder every now and again. I realised it was Noriko from the police station.

I quickly stepped off my bike, and unclipped my helmet. She looked pretty scared; maybe I should walk home with her?

"Hey, Noriko!" I called over, and she paused. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled briefly, still not able to dispel the worried expression from her face. "You're out late, Mai."

"Are you ok walking by yourself?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." She told me, readjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "Really, Mai, you shouldn't be out this late. You should go home." With that, she continued walking, ending the conversation.

Though I turned to leave, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong; that I shouldn't be leaving. It was Noriko – I couldn't leave her all by herself. Something in the pit of my stomach told me I needed to be keeping an eye on her.

"Wait." I turned back, then paused. Noriko was talking to someone. It would be rude of me to interrupt.

Suddenly, she fell to the ground.

"Noriko?" I called, dropping my bike noisily. A person was standing over her, as indistinguishable as a shadow. Seeing me, they ran away, panting hard as they sprinted down an alley and out of sight.

"Noriko!" I reached her, and knelt by her. She was groaning, her face pale and blood seeping out underneath her hands as she clutched her abdomen.

"Somebody! Help!" I shouted into the empty streets, scrabbling for my phone and dialling 999.

"I need an ambulance!" I did not wait to be asked. "Carlingford, Thoslel Street! Someone's been stabbed!"

The voice operator began to explain, calmly, how to minimise the bleeding, while I waited for the ambulance to arrive. All the while, a single thought echoed in my head, and remained there even when the ambulance arrived and took Noriko away.

The murderer had struck again, this time attacking Noriko, who had nothing to do with the fishing industry. I had no doubt that the person behind the bombings was responsible for this, and that they were going to strike again. But were they branching out now, changing their MO, targeting people who were unrelated to the fishing industry, like Noriko?

If that was the case, then who was next?


	8. Chapter 8: The Secret Behind the Scale

**(A/N): This was a really fun chapter to write.**

**I don't actually watch Free! (I know enough about it to understand what goes on if someone talks about it, and I know that some people get annoyed if you call it 'the gay swimming anime') but I do watch 50% off, which is absolutely brilliant (I love thug!Nagisa). **

**Thank you so much for all your nice reviews! They make me really happy! :D**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! (I certainly did :P)**

* * *

"They said she's going to make it."

I was sitting in the police station, Houshou's jacket wrapped around me and a warm cup of tea in my hands that Kazuya made me, its heat comforting and its aroma relaxing. By now, I had calmed down a little, but my hands were still itching as I remembered the thick coating of blood from Noriko's wounds that covered my palms. When the ambulance took her away, the police had brought me in to ask what had happened. I told them what I witnessed, though with difficult from my shaking nerves.

"T-That's good." I took a sip from the tea. It was some kind of herbal or fruit blend with a soothing taste that calmed me down further. "…So, she'll be ok?"

"She might have to stay in hospital for a while, but she'll recover. Her niece will have to stay with relatives until she's better." Houshou explained.

"It's a good job you were there, though." Kazuya spoke up. "If someone hadn't rung an ambulance straight away like you did, she might be in a much more serious position."

"Mm." I didn't feel happy. I felt scared. Whoever had attacked Noriko had entered the scene so quickly, that they must have been waiting for her. It scared me. Who would be next? Me? My brother? My friends?

"So, you saw the knife?" Houshou asked, thinking back to my witness statement.

"U-Um…I think so…" The truth was, I hadn't – I had just assumed Noriko had been stabbed. Thinking back to her wound, and how the person with the mermaid tattoo from my dream had been playing with a knife, it was the most likely scenario.

"That means it could be anyone." Kazuya sighed. "Knives aren't exactly difficult to come across."

"I'm sorry for bringing this up again, but are you sure there wasn't anything about the person that could help us identify who it is?" Houshou asked me gently.

I looked down at the cup in my hands, at the steam swirling slowly up from the liquid. There was one thing I could say that might help the police – something I'd only been able to tell Kazuya so far, something from my dreams. But I hadn't actually seen it in real life, and if I was wrong, it would cause more harm than good. Yet…I knew I was right. The bomber and the person who attacked Noriko were the same person, I knew it.

"…A mermaid tattoo." I spoke up quietly. "I'm sorry, I only remembered it now, but…the person had a mermaid tattoo on their arm."

"What?!" Houshou bent down to my level. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Whoever it was rolled up their arm when they…you know…and I saw it then." I was committing a crime here – giving false information to the police – but they needed to know that the murderer was someone with a mermaid tattoo. It would help the case hugely.

"Ok." Houshou scribbled this down. "From now on, I'll pick you up from SPR, ok? I don't want you travelling along in the dark any more." Houshou patted my head. "Alright?"

I nodded glumly. "Yeah." The thought was haunting me again and again – who was next?

* * *

For the next few days, I did not see much of my brother, who was swept off his feet by a tidal wave of patrols, questioning and paper work following the attempted murder. Despite his insistence that I stay off work to recuperate, I went back to work at SPR the following night; I found it much easier to be doing something, working somewhere, than sitting along at home, thinking about the previous night and the gruesome images that accompanied it.

Of course, everyone was asking me about what happened – in a small town like Carlingford, news travelled fast – but I avoided all conversations about it, keeping my answers to the bare minimum. It was not a topic I really wanted to talk about.

Over the next few days, I noticed the number of tourists getting smaller and smaller. The news of Noriko's attack had obviously reached them as well as the locas, and I didn't blame them for not wanting to stick around.

"Well, I like it this way." Yasuhara was commenting on the lack of tourists at SPR that night as I served him. Today, most of the local customers were gathered around Madoka as she described, in full detail, the results of her investigation into the case. She had wasted no time; in fact, today's first page article had been written by Madoka, much to her ecstatic delight. It had been entitled 'The Murderer with the Mermaid Tattoo.'

"It's more peaceful without so many tourists." Only he, myself, Masako, John, and Lin, who was sitting in his normal spot, were ignoring Madoka's report on the inner workings of the case.

"Well, maybe for you, but we like tourists." Masako informed him. "They tip much higher than the locals. And it's bad for Ayako, too. She got a lot of money from tourists, and if everyone stops coming here, her business will suffer."

"True, true." Yasuhara acknowledged her argument. "For her sake, then, let's hope that they come back. I just happen to enjoy the quiet without a hoard of tourists outside my bedroom window, and a beach I can walk along without having to dodge a dozen sandcastles and picnic rugs, if you get what I mean."

"I suppose." Masako nodded. "What do you think, Mai?"

"Hm?" I had been distracted, trying to see if Kazuya was at the restaurant today. Ever since Noriko was attacked, he hadn't showed up, presumably drowning in work like my brother was. Today was no exception; the spot underneath the chandelier was empty.

"The tourists." Masako waited for my answer.

"Uh…well, it's bad for business, but good for anyone who doesn't have a job actually in Carlingford." I summed up. "Let's just hope this case is sorted out quickly."

"Well, why don't we take advantage of our tourist-less town?" Yasuhara seemed to have perked up considerably over the past few days, since the spotlight of attention had been diverted from his father to the current case. "How about we go swimming in the sea when the tide comes up? Do the classic 'jump from the pier' thing? Before all the tourists come back."

Somehow, jumping into water that boats had been sinking in and bodies had been recovered form was the last thing I wanted to do, and I shuddered involuntarily. "Sorry. I think I'll pass on that one."

"How about you, John?" He turned to the Australian, who had just finished serving Lin. " How about a swim in the sea?"

John paled slightly. "A-Ah. Um, no thanks." He replied quickly. "I'm afraid of water."

"Oh, ok." Yasuhara shrugged, and turned to Masako. "Let me guess. You don't like swimming either, huh?"

"Not really." She smiled. "But I do enjoy watching it."

Yasuhara looked bemused, and I asked, "Are you thinking of that gay swimming anime you like?"

Masako scoffed. "First of all, it's called Free!. Secondly, it's more than just a 'gay swimming anime'. And yes, I was thinking of that."

"Mai, what's 'anime'?" John asked me quietly.

"Shhh! Sh sh sh!" I put my hand over his mouth. "Don't say that in front of Masako!" I hissed.

"Sorry, what was that?" Masako asked, hearing her name being mentioned.

"Nothing! John and I just need to get some napkins from the back." I dragged him away from the conversation. Behind us, I could hear Masako and Yasuhara talking.

"So… a 'gay swimming anime'?" Yasuhara asked tentatively.

"It's more than a gay swimming anime." Masako repeated. "Let me explain."

"Poor Yasuhara." I remarked as John and I searched the storage cupboard for some more napkins. "She's going to be giving him a lecture on…Makoharu or Reigisa or whatever they're called."

"Oh…so, what is this 'anime'?"

"It's a Japanese style of animation." I explained, a lot more brief in my description than Masako was. "Whatever you do, don't call it a cartoon. She hates that."

"O-Oh. Ok."

Wanting to change the topic, I asked, "Have you got a phobia of water or something, then, John?"

"Y-Yeah." He looked very uncomfortable about having to discuss it. "I can't stand it."

"Oh, I see." I was struck suddenly by what he had said. Something wasn't right.

"Oh, here they are." John took some of the napkins from the shelf. "Let's bring this back, shall we?"

"Yeah, sure…" I followed him out, turning my thoughts over and over in my head. What had struck me as so strange about his fear of water?

It was only when, lying in bed, the answer came to me: John had seemed absolutely fine when we were on that boat going over to Lin's lighthouse the other day. If he was afraid of water, wouldn't he have been terrified, crossing rocky waters in a small rowing boat filled with five people? But he hadn't even batted an eye. If it had been me with a phobia of water, I would have hated it.

The thought lingered with me. Of course, I wasn't one to judge how people should and shouldn't behave in the presence of their fears. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that John had lied about being afraid of water.

But why would he do that? If he hadn't wanted to go swimming with Yasuhara, he could have just said so. As I fell asleep, my mind worked on the puzzle diligently. And why was I always finding those scales around him? Scales from a fish that didn't even live in these waters? It wasn't like you could exactly keep a pet Blue Marlin, was it?

To be honest, the whole matter was very insignificant, but I allowed myself to focus on it. I'd rather this than be thinking about the attempted murder. So, why had he lied? What was with the scales?

An idea formed in my head. A bizarre, ridiculous idea. But somehow, I found myself accepting it.

* * *

The next day, I had a new mission in mind: I needed to find out about John. That day, I had an earlier shift at SPR at the request of Houshou. My brother was still very nervous about me taking late night shifts, so for the next few days, I had requested to work the breakfast shift. None of my friends were there, but I knew that I should at least humour my brother for a little while, as I could understand very well why he was so anxious. The breakfast shift was not particularly busy, with only people who had stayed overnight at the inn present. It was a self-serve system for breakfast, so I didn't have to do as much work, and I found myself with more than one moment to spare. Taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere, I sidled over to Ayako.

"Hey, Ayako." I greeted her as she cleaned a table, since the bar not open yet.

"Hi." She looked at me, and frowned. "What's wrong? You have a very…inquisitive glint in your eye."

"What? No I don't!" I shook my head emphatically. "I was just wondering something, that's all…"

Ayako smiled. "What is it?"

I glanced around the inn and, when I realised John was not there, I leant in close to Ayako.

"I was just wondering about John."

"What about him?"

"He arrived here a year ago, right?"

"Right." Ayako nodded. "Now, you're not allowed to go spreading information around, ok?"

"Of course not." I agreed quickly, and Ayako continued.

"John first came here a year ago, from Australia. At first, I hear he lived rough for a while."

"You mean…on the streets?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. He has no relatives here, and at the time, he knew no one, and didn't have any money."

"Why did he come here, then?"

"I don't know. I remember he busked on the streets a lot, and for a little while, he was able to get by just fine with the money he got from it."

"Really?"

"Mm hm. He has a very, very nice singing voice. The tourists loved it."

I mentally filed away all this information as she spoke. "Eventually, he became friends with Lin – though I have no idea how that happened – and not long after that, he got a job here."

"Oh…."

"Why do you ask? I hope you haven't become Madoka's protégée or something, have you?"

"No, no, no!" I waved my arms. "Nothing like that! I was asking as a friend."

"I see. Well, if I were you, I wouldn't bring it up. Most people who have lived on the street don't normally like it when that kind of information is spread around. I trust you not to tell anyone."

I nodded. "Don't worry, I won't."

Quite soon after my conversation with Ayako, my eye fell on another person of interest. Kazuya was sitting under the chandelier, like he normally did, looking completely exhausted. His elbow was on the table, and his head rested on his hand with his eyes shut.

Tentatively, I walked over to him. "Kazuya?" I said quietly.

He barely stirred. His eyelids fluttered a few times, but otherwise, he was still.

"Kazuya? Are you asleep?" He had very nice eye lashes, I thought. They were quite long and very thick, the kind of eye lashes people were aiming for whenever they put on mascara. Even when he was sleeping, he was very handsome.

Wait a minute. I realised I should stop watching him sleep like a creeper.

Quickly, I tapped him on the shoulder. "Kazuya. Kazuya, wake up."

He started suddenly, and his eyes flashed open. Confused, he looked around then, remembering where he was, looked up at me.

"What is it?" He moved his hair out of his eyes self-consciously, embarrassed that he was caught sleeping. "Is something wrong?"

"Um…" I hesitated. Was really now the right time to be talking to him about my…theory?

"…Can I have your number?"

Kazuya raised an eye brow, amused. "That's rather forward of you."

"No, not like that!" I scowled, blushing. "I meant, I want to talk to you about…the case and stuff. And something that's been bothering me."

"I see. I've been very busy, though."

"Well, if you have a free moment, can we meet up to talk about it?"

* * *

Later that night, I got a text from Kazuya, telling me to meet him at the police station. It wasn't as hard as I thought to sneak out of the house – Houshou had already come home, and he had already fallen asleep on the sofa, surrounded by various files and documents. Leaving him a note to say I was at Masako's house in case he woke up and panicked, I exited the house as quietly as I possibly could.

When I reached the police station, I found Kazuya sitting his desk, looking as if he was about the collapse from exhaustion. Again, the room was filled with boxes and boxes of paperwork, documents had been scattered about the room, and I even saw the odd piece of evidence in a plastic wallet from old cases.

Tiredly, Kazuya greeted me when I entered the room. "Good evening, Mai. Have a seat."

Checking each step I took, in case I accidentally stood on a vital piece of evidence or something in the mess of the room, I sat down opposite him.

"It looks pretty hectic here." I remarked.

Kazuya sighed. "Hectic is one word for it. Not only are we up to our necks in work about the bombings and Noriko's attack, but I'm also trying to research the Yoshimi murders on the side. And that newspaper article – The Murderer with the Mermaid Tattoo, was it? – is not helping at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Thanks to the press, and by which I mean Ms Mori, people know that our murderer has a mermaid tattoo, and they'll start wondering why it is we can't find the murderer when they have something as obvious as a mermaid tattoo."

I pursed my lips. "….Well…why can't you?"

"First of all, we would need a warrant to go around, invading people's privacy and searching for this tattoo. Second of all, the murderer might not even live here, rendering the first method pointless. Third of all, we have no idea where this murderer got his or her tattoo, so we can't trace them that way. For all we know, they could have gotten their tattoo from Cork, or Belfast, or Madrid, or _Bejing_, or literally anywhere in the world."

"I see your point." He did not look like someone to trifle with at this hour.

He took a breath. "…What was it that you wanted to talk about? Your ESP, right? Did you have a dream?"

"Uh…no. I kind of lied about wanting to talk about the case."

Kazuya stared at me with an expression that would have given Lin's a run for its money in terms of scariness. Before he had the chance to murder me, I spoke up quickly.

"But it is important, why I wanted to speak to you! Honestly!"

Kazuya leant back in his chair. "Go ahead, then."

"Um…well…" I played with my fingers. "Um…" How was I going to put this without sounding like I was high or something?

Kazuya leant forwards and put his arms on the table, resting his head against them, his eyes shut. "Go on." He said tiredly, his voice muffled. "If you don't tell me, I'll end up falling asleep."

"I think John might be a mermaid!" I blurted out.

There was a moment of silence.

Kazuya looked up, his face blank. "…What?"

"I, uh…" I chuckled nervously. "…I think…John is a mermaid."

Kazuya sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He did not look ready to put up with this.

"…Mai…you do know that mermaid's don't exist, don't you?" He asked me slowly.

"Just listen, just listen. Right. So, I keep on finding these scales. I found one on something John had bought, and then another on his collar. I asked Yasuhara about the scales, and he told me that they came from a Blue Marlin, which live nowhere around here. They live in the Pacific. And which ocean surrounds Australia?"

Kazuya didn't answer.

"The Pacific! And, and, there's more! Ayako said that John is a really good singer, and mermaids are good singers, right?"

"I'm sorry, but that argument is not very convincing."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." It did sound pretty lame.

"So he's a good singer and you found some fish scales. Did it occur to you that, maybe, he just came into contact with a Blue Marlin at the market? And there are lots of good singers out there, and none of them are mermaids."

"But –"

"Look, you're sounding like the fisherman who came up to me, claiming he was saved by a mermaid."

"Yeah, but…" I bit my lip. "I had a dream about when he was saved, you know that, right?"

"Yes…?"

"Well, I'm certain there really _was_ something in the water. Something big with blue scales. I think that fisherman might've actually been right, and he was rescued by a mermaid. Aaaand…that mermaid is John!"

Kazuya put his head in his hands. "John is not a mermaid."

"Look, I know I sound crazy, but hear me out. So far, I haven't been wrong about anything, right?"

"Mai, this is an entirely different matter. You're claiming someone in a mythical creature."

"Well, I had to put up with your nonsense when you searched a boat without a warrant on the basis of a teenage girl's dream." I pointed out, crossing my arms. "I believe your argument was, 'if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but if I'm right, then it changes everything', and 'my mind won't be at rest until I search it.'"

Kazuya let out a deep breath, too exhausted to match my challenging glare or argue with me.

I leant over to him. "Please? Let's go check him out. It's almost 11, so his shift will be ending at SPR soon. Come on. Please? Pleeeaaaaaase?"

He stared at me for a moment, looking as if he was considering something.

"Pleeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaa –"

"Fine, fine! We'll go!" He stood up, moodily grabbing his coat and pulling it on.

* * *

Waiting outside SPR while seagulls, ever scavenging, pecked at our feet, it was about half eleven when John finally left the restaurant. Looking out nervously into the night, he began to walk nervously down the street, towards the pier.

"That's strange. John stays at the inn. Where is he going?" I whispered dramatically to Kazuya, who just grunted.

"Come on, let's follow him!" I grabbed Kazuya's arm and led him down the streets, sticking to the shadows to try and keep out of sight from John.

"Wait, it looks like we're heading to the pier." I whispered. "Is he trying to see Lin at this hour?"

Finally, John stopped, right at the end of the pier. Carefully, he got into one of the boats, and began to row across to the lighthouse, apparently ignoring the grounding of the boats. There was no one on guard, though, so he moved without unease.

"We need to follow him!" I exclaimed when he had gotten far enough away that we could show ourselves.

"How would you propose that? You don't happen to have a boat in your pocket, do you?"

I scowled. "No. But I'm sure we can just…borrow one…"

Kazuya groaned. "No, we are not 'borrowing' anything."

"Oh, come on! All the boats are grounded, so it's not as if anyone will be using them otherwise!"

* * *

So, that's how we found ourselves stuck in the middle of the sea, our boat rocking gently.

"I can't believe you dropped an oar!" I hissed, sweeping the beam of my torch light across the waves.

"Just help me find it." Kazuya growled.

"I mean, falling asleep at the wheel is one thing, but falling asleep in a boat…"

"It's not my fault." Kazuya snapped. "I've been up since three, I've spent the entire day up to my neck in work and having to listen to taunts from my co-workers about my age, and now I'm in the middle of the sea, stuck in a boat, in the freezing cold, looking for a _mermaid_, and the only reason I'm even doing this is because I like –!" He shouted.

When he realised what he had just said, he froze and went a deep red colour.

An awkward silence fell between us.

"…You…like what?" I asked quietly.

Kazua did not answer initially, and just stared out at the waves.

"…Nothing." He spoke up eventually. "…I just heard your brother saying he was worried about you. That you'd been a little upset about what happened to Noriko. And…I just thought it would be good for you to have something else to focus on, instead of relying on you so much for this case. It's not fair on you to have that kind of pressure. So…"

"…You were doing this to cheer me up?"

Again, he didn't reply, but a surge of happiness crashed through me. I had never really thought of Kazuya being someone with a particularly caring side, and it was endearing to know he had agreed to row into the sea in the middle of the night based on some wild theory of mine.

"Hey." I touched him gently. "This is pretty crazy, isn't it?"

A ghost of a smile flickered on his lips. "You could say that."

Thinking back now, I had no idea what had urged me into such a strange idea. Maybe I was really just desperate for something to think of; something to distract me from the nauseating images of Noriko lying on the road.

"How about we get that oar, and go home? It's cold out here tonight."

"That sounds like a good idea." He agreed, rubbing his hands together to get warmth back into them.

"Ok, where did this stupid thing float off to?" I muttered, straining my eyes against the darkness, scanning the light of my torch across the crest of each wave.

As I searched, something flickered near the surface of the sea; the water splashed, sending spray in our direction, icy cold against my face.

"Hey." I grabbed Kazuya's arm. "Did you see that?"

"No." Kazuya peered into the water. "What was it?"

"A fish or something, I think." A terrifying thought dawned on me. "…There aren't any…sharks around here, are there?" I asked nervously.

"No. Even if there was, the number of species of shark that will actively try and eat a human is extremely low. Only around 7-10 people die from shark attacks each year. Frankly, a person is more at risk from a cow attack than a shark attack."

"Oh." Still, it didn't reassure me.

"Ah, there it is!" Kazuya pointed into the water. The oar was bobbing up and down on the waves, not too far away from the boat.

"Let me just…" Kazuya stretched over the boat, his fingers straining for the handle of the oar, which was floating just out of reach from the boat.

"Hey, careful." I warned him. "You might fall in."

"I'll be fine." He assured me confidently, stretching further.

Something burst out of the water.

I screamed. Kazuya gave a startled cry and lost balance, toppling into the water.

"…Mai? Kazuya?" John was staring at us as he floated in the water. "What're you doing out this late? Kazuya, are you alright?!"

"John! What're you – Kazuya! Are you ok?!"

Kazuya spluttered water, struggling to stay afloat. "W-W-W-W…"

I grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the boat. He was freezing cold, and shivering violently.

"John, what're you doing?!" I demanded. "You shouldn't be swimming this late! And I thought you were afraid of water?!"

"Uh…" John was at a loss for words.

"Come on. Get out of there before you die from the cold. We'll bring you back to shore." I held out my hand to him.

Strangely, he backed away, looking at my hands as if it was toxic. "U-Uh, I'm fine, really."

"John, seriously. This isn't funny."

"You didn't bring anyone else with you, did you?" John glanced around nervously.

I stared at his back. "…John…what's that on your back?"

His eyes widened as he faced me quickly. "Nothing."

"N-No, there's…there's a fin on your back."

"No there's not."

"Yes…there is…" There was definitely a fin running down his back, I had seen it – pale, thin, translucent and almost glowing in the moonlight.

"I don't know what you're talking about." John insisted.

"Turn around for us, then."

He paled. "No."

"Why not?"

"U-Uh…Because…um…"

I frowned, then pointed into the distance behind John. "Oh my gosh, look! It's a shark!"

John gave me a look. "There are no sharks here."

"Damnit." I hissed.

Kazuya, who was still shivering, got out his mobile with shaking hands. It wasn't actually working, considering his little dip in the sea, but he pressed some buttons and put it to his ear.

"…Hello? Madoka?" I was certain he wasn't actually talking to anyone. "…Oh, you're here already?...Yeah, no, I can see you." He peered into the distance beyond John.

"What?!" John turned around, panicked. "You brought a _journalist_ with you?!"

"Aha!" I shouted, pointing at his back. "There _is_ one! There is a fin! Kazuya, look! Look!"

"I can see it."

John scowled. "What're you both doing out here?"

"Catching hyperthermia."

"We were looking for you." I explained, ignoring Kazuya's remark.

"Mai thinks you're a mermaid." Kazuya said briskly.

Instead of scorning us, John laughed nervously. "W-What're you talking about? Mermaids don't exist…"

"John, why do you have a fin on your back?" I asked suspiciously.

"No reason. I-It's a thing for swimming. Part of a swim suit." John lied unconvincingly.

"Fine. Come over here, then." I beckoned him over.

"No." He backed away.

"Come on." I held out my hand.

"No, I'm fine."

"Come on, seriously. It's too cold to be swimming." I reached out a grabbed his arm. Startled, he jerked away, dragging me with him over the edge of the boat.

As soon as I hit the water, the breath was knocked out of me.

"A-A-A-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh….C-C-Cold…Cold…" I kicked frantically, treading the water to keep me upright.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" John asked worriedly, realising what he'd done.

I grabbed onto him, finding myself slipping further and further under the water. As my leg kicked out, my foot touched something rough, something serrated, something slippery.

Yelping, I back pedalled to the boat, where Kazuya grabbed me and pulled me out of the water, back on board.

"I t-t-touched something! A shark! Something's in there! There's a shark in the water! John, get out now!" I shouted, shivering from fear and the cold.

John sighed deeply. "Mai, there aren't any sharks here." He told me quietly.

"John, stop it! Get onto –"

"That was me you touched."

"…_W-What_?"

"It was…my tail." He swam closer to the edge of the boat, and rolled onto his side. Then he took my hand gently.

"It's ok. Don't be scared." He told me kindly when I lurched away. Carefully, he lowered my hand underneath the freezing water. He gestured for Kazuya to do the same. Cautiously, he followed suit.

My hand came into contact with something rough. When I moved my hand up and down it, I could distinctly feel the individual crests and edges of what I could have sworn were scales.

"N-No…" I breathed. "That's impossible." I mean, I knew I had been the one to suggest it…but there was no way it was _actually_ real. No way.

Kazuya's eyes widened as it clicked into place in his mind. "H-How…how is this scientifically possible?"

John smiled nervously. "…Ta da?"

The water splashed, and instead of a leg, a fish tail was raised slightly into the air. The dripping water and its own iridescent shine made it glisten in the light of the midnight sky, and each scale shimmered, casting off their own soft, blue light, just like the stars themselves .

I think that's when I screamed.


	9. Chapter 9: Merperson

**(A/N): I JUST REALLY LIKE MERMAIDS OK**

**I apologise for posting this chapter so late. I've been very busy with school work and coursework, so I haven't had much time at all to do any writing. I'll try and have the next chapter up soon.**

**I hope you've been having a good Christmas/Hanukkah/holiday/whatever you choose celebrate. I've had a good time, but I don't want to go back to school...I still have work to do :(**

**I really like mythology, and merfolk are at the top of my 'favourite mythological beings' list. Dragons are pretty high up there too.**

**My younger sister once watched the film 'Aquamarine' at least once a day for a fortnight. I now hate that film.**

**Soon, it will be 2015. That's scary.**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter, and thank you for reading!**

* * *

Both Kazuya and I were completely speechless.

John sighed, and pushed himself onto the boat, sitting between us. For a moment, no one said anything, while Kazuya and I both continued to stare at his tail. From the poor light, I could just about tell it was blue, and I think it had white stripes – not too unlike a Blue Marlin. Looking now, I could see that the scales I had found matched perfectly with the rough exterior of his own tail.

Finally, Kazuya spoke.

"…Is…Is this real?" He asked, slightly bewildered.

"Mmhm." John flicked the tail gently back and forth in the water, absent-mindedly. "Either that or the past 19 years of my life has been a lie."

"No." Kazuya said abruptly. "No. This isn't real. You're wearing one of those fake tails, aren't you?"

John frowned, bemused. "Fake tails?"

"Yes." Kazuya bent over, staring very closely at John's tail, running his finger up and down the scales experimentally. "It's a very good make, I'll give you that, but it's not real. It can't be." He peered at John's waistline. "And somewhere around here, you'll see the seams where it comes off…" He frowned, and looked closer, examining John carefully. "…It's here somewhere. I know it is."

John, looking a bit uncomfortable with the way Kazuya was scrutinising his body so closely, glanced at me.

"Is he ok?" He whispered, while Kazuya got more and more agitated as he failed to find this 'seam line'.

"I think so. He's just…having a hard time absorbing this all, I guess." I grinned apologetically.

"I'm not surprised, really." John admitted, though he still looked uncomfortable at Kazuya's lack of awareness about personal body space. "You look like you're taking this in your stride, though."

To be fair, even I was having a hard time taking this in. I half expected to wake up suddenly, to find that the entire night was some bizarre dream. Maybe I was dying from the cold after falling into the sea, and was hallucinating.

"I guess. But…Can…Can I touch it?" I asked tentatively.

John smiled. "Go ahead." He gestured his head towards Kazuya. "He already has."

Cautiously, I lowered my hand onto John's tail, almost retracting it a few times. When I finally lowered my palm onto the scales, I ran it up and down, still overcome by bewilderment.

"…This is impossible…" I breathed. This was real. This was actually real.

With this realisation, a sudden moment of triumph blossomed inside me. "See? I _told _you he was a mermaid!"

"Merperson." John sniffed.

"Huh?"

"Mer_person_. I prefer to use that term. It's more gender neutral."

"…I'll try and remember that."

John tilted his head. "Were you really out here, looking for me? To see if I was a merperson?"

I laughed nervously. "Yeah…crazy, right?"

John shrugged. "Well, you were actually right."

"Speaking of which, you have a _lot_ of explaining to do."

"I still don't believe you're a mermaid," Kazuya interjected, having failed to find his precious 'seam line', "but regardless, she's right. You do. But could we continue this conversation inside?" He requested. "When I said I was catching hyperthermia, I wasn't joking."

* * *

In the end, we were towed back to the lighthouse by a furious Lin, who had obviously watched the scene from his tower.

"What is going on?!" He had shouted from his small speed boat as he sped towards us. "Why are you two here?! Go home!"

"Lin, it's ok. They're my friends." John called over. "Can you take us back, please? They fell in the water."

Muttering a cheerful selection of swearwords, Lin stopped the speed boat besides ours, and threw over a chain.

"Tie it on." He growled. "Don't let the chain get caught in the propeller."

After a fun ride to the lighthouse filled with an uncomfortable silence, Lin tied up the speed boat by the small platform that surrounded the structure. I guessed he had no regard for the grounding of boats that the police had put in place, but somehow, that didn't surprise me. Shakily, Kazuya and I stepped off the boat, onto the platform of the light house.

"You two should dry yourself off." John said, pushing himself onto the platform, wiping some water off his tail. "You'll catch a cold if you're not careful."

"Y-Yeah." I probably already had.

Inside, once we had climbed the mountain of stairs, I felt a comforting warmth wash over me, restoring the life back into my frozen hands.

"Ah…" I walked over to a radiator, which was on despite it being summer. "That's nice."

"Do you have a towel?" Kazuya asked, joining me by the radiator.

Lin grunted, and lowered John, who he had been carrying, into a chair, before stalking off somewhere.

"I'm sorry if Lin acts a little…cold." John apologised, batting away the three cats that were now crowding around him, mewing loudly and attempting to lick his tail. "He's probably a little annoyed that I allowed myself to be seen by you two."

"Why?"

"Well, he might think you'll go around telling people."

"What?! We wouldn't do that!" I exclaimed, slightly outraged. "Who does he think we are?!"

"He's just nervous. You two are practically strangers to him." John pointed out. "Though even if you did tell someone, I don't think they'd believe you."

"That's true." Kazuya wasn't shivering as much now. His gaze was completely focused on John's tail. It still looked like he couldn't decide whether it was real or not.

"…Is you…being a mermaid –"

"Mer_person_." John reminded me gently.

"Sorry, is you being a merperson anything to do with being friends with Lin?"

"You could say that." John nodded. "I came here about a year ago from Australia, and I was…living rough, you could say. I spent a lot of time in the sea, and I was always very careful about boats, but one day, a fishing boat went out against the quota, and I got caught in a net."

"Oh dear."

"Yeah. It's not a very pleasant experience. Lin saved me. He cut me free, and brought me back here. He accepted it all very quickly, and he even let me stay here until I got a job at SPR."

Vaguely, I could remember Yasuhara's father yelling about his net being cut up a year ago, and the culprit never being found. Well, that was one mystery solved.

"I have a question." I raised my hand. "You know those stories about mermaids bringing down ships and stuff, and drowning all the sailors?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that true?"

John smiled. "Well, I know that humans and merpeople certainly had a rocky relationship for a long time, at least in the British Isles. It wasn't like that all over the world, though. Relationships were relatively healthy in Australia, actually."

"Wait, why did you leave Australia? Why did you come here?" Kazuya asked, intrigued. "I mean, just generally. I still don't accept that you're a mermai – a merperson."

Looking amused at Kazuya's insistence, John nodded. "Well, I came_ here_ because the water's clean. That clam farm means that the council works very hard to keep the area clean, and there's a lot less rubbish and waste. You humans tend to really pollute the ocean. It's getting hard to find places to live."

"Really?"

"Well, I know my friends from the Great Barrier Reef are thinking of moving, and the Arctic folks aren't very happy about global warming, you know. Melting ice caps, ocean acidification…it's kind of ruining our homes." John tilted his head and crossed his arms, thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it…I don't even think you find merpeople in the river Ganges or Yangtze anymore, it's so polluted now. We can live in rivers, by the way. A lot of us just prefer salt water. And that oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? BP, I think it was? That was a complete nightmare. Everyone had to leave."

Kazuya shuffled uncomfortably – now that I thought about it, BP was a British company. "Is it really that bad?"

"Very bad. My old home, around South Australia, is completely deteriorating. I have some friends by the Barrier Reef, and it's the same story. Changes in temperatures, oil spills, waste, it's all killing the ecosystem. Reefs are very fragile. It's one thing to be keeping an eye out for Crown-of-thorn Starfish, but there's not much we can do about pollution, especially on such a large scale."

There was no bitterness or anger in his voice as he spoke, but there was an undeniable sadness that created a surge of guilt inside of me.

"Sorry." I told him, and although I was being genuine, the simple word did not seem enough in comparison to the awful destruction that mankind had inflicted on the oceans.

"Well, Ireland is a very small contributor towards these sort of things, but try to think twice before you next throw your plastic litter into the sea."

I looked down nervously; it was something I had done once or twice.

"Is that why you left Australia? Because of pollution?" Kazuya asked, forgetting to insist on his disbelief.

"Partly. But…also politics." John bit his lip. "It's a little complicated."

I sensed it was not a topic open to discussion, so I quickly asked, "Wait, did you have to swim the entire way to get here?!"

John frowned, bemused. "No…I just took a plane."

"Huh? B-But, you're a mermaid!" It seemed very anticlimactic.

"Merperson." John corrected me patiently. "And we can change into a more human form, remember? No tails, no gills, no fins. Besides, swimming such a large distance isn't an easy thing. It would be the same if someone forced you to walk that entire distance."

"Oh yeah." That made sense.

"Mm. Actually, we come in shore quite a lot – well, depending on where you live and your community. We've been doing it a lot more recently, what with all the pollution."

"Oh. In all the films – like _Splash_, or _Aquamarine_ – the mermaids – um, merpeople – all have no idea what all the technology is. It's normally their first time being a human. I'm guessing that isn't really an accurate representation, is it?"

John smiled. "Not really, no. Then again, we're not really looking to be well represented in media, since our entire existence isn't exactly broadcast for everyone to know."

I felt a little disappointed. "Oh…"

"Sorry." John smiled apologetically. "Now, can I ask some questions?"

"Yeah, sure."

"How did you know I was a merperson?"

"Firstly, you leave your scales everywhere."

John sighed. "Ah. They're always falling off."

"And I have ESP, so…"

"Mai!" Kazuya hissed, glaring at me. He walked to a different corner of the room, beckoning me over.

"You don't just go around telling people that!" He whispered furiously.

"What? Masako knows." I retaliated. "And he's a mermaid."

"Merperson." John called over.

"His secret makes mine look _tame_ in comparison." As I talked, something caught my eye. On the table, there was a framed photo. It looked a little out of place in the room, which was so bare and void of any decoration. Curiously, I walked over to it.

"What's this?" I picked it up, looking at the image. It was a little old and worn, but the frame was pristine and clean. A woman smiled at me from behind the glass. Vaguely, I wondered if I had seen her before, and who it was. Was it Lin's girlfriend? They didn't look similar enough to be related.

The door slammed, and both Kazuya and I jumped. Lin had returned with three towels.

"What're you doing?" He asked gruffly, his eyes on the frame in my hands.

Immediately, I put it down, and backed away from the table. "Nothing."

His eyes narrowed, Lin passed two of the towels roughly to me and Kazuya, then gave the final one more gently to John.

"Don't touch that again." He ordered.

"O-Ok." He still didn't like us, it seemed.

As I gratefully dried my hair, John asked curiously, "What was that about ESP?"

Ignoring Kazuya's glare, I just sighed. "Never mind. Actually, I have another question. Do you remember a man who was a survivor of the most recent sinking?"

John nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, he kept on talking about being saved by a mermaid – merperson." I corrected myself quickly. "That wasn't you by any chance, was it?" I asked, thinking back to the first dream I had.

"Yes, that was me." John confirmed.

"And you shouldn't have gone out, swimming near a boat!" Lin muttered, scowling. "He saw you, and he's been claiming to all sorts of people that he 'saw a mermaid'."

"Mer-person." I corrected him, then quailed under his murderous glare.

"Well, I wasn't just going to let him drown, was I?" John retaliated, then sighed regretfully. "I just wish I had been there on time. I could have saved some of the others."

An interest was piqued inside of me.

"John…could you tell us about the boat sinkings that have occurred recently?"

"I can't tell you that much, I'm afraid. The first two times, I wasn't nearby. Whenever the fishing boats go out, I try and avoid them. After I heard about the second sinking, I decided to stick around, to see what was happening. The sea was a little rocky, but it wasn't that rough, and I was taken completely by surprise. The fourth time there was a storm, but it was well after it ended when the boat sank. I was barely on time to save that man."

"Hm…" So, it seemed like the murderer didn't particularly care about waiting for a storm to activate the bombs that would have been hidden in the holds of the fishing boats. Looking back now, that was pretty strange. If they had been trying to hide their deeds, they should have waited until there was a storm to sink any of the ships. In fact, they had even waited until the storm was over to sink the last boat. Did this mean that they weren't looking for subtlety? Maybe they _wanted_ everyone to see the boats sinking, and to _know_ that they were murders. They were trying to attract attention. But why? What was their purpose? And why bother choosing a murder method that risked being viewed as an accident if they wanted them to be noticed? Was there some significance behind this method - some sort of symbolism they wanted to portray?

"Excuse me." Kazuya spoke up, his voice forcedly polite and courteous. "How do you turn into a 'merperson'? And how do you turn back?"

"Well, I have to be submerged, or at the very least drenched in water, to turn. Sometimes, all it takes is a very rainy day to set it off. I'm ok setting off in that boat, I'm so used to it now, but rainy days make me nervous. They just happen without warning here."

That explained why he had been hiding so anxiously under the bus shelter when it was raining the other day.

"Heh. That is _so_ like Splash or H20 or something." I interjected.

John shook his head, though he was smiling. "It's not. It's really not."

"Hm." Kazuya sounded like he was contemplating this. "And how do you turn back?"

"I just dry myself off, and turn back. Speaking of which…um…"

If we stayed, we would be invading his privacy. "We'll go, uh, stand outside the room."

"Thank you." John smiled.

I walked over to the door. "Come on, Kazuya." I called.

"Hm." He remained stubbornly where he was.

I sighed. "What is it?"

"Honestly, I'm still having a hard time believing this." The authoritative and professional tone had come back into his voice now he wasn't as cold or wet. "I still think this is a rouse. That tail could be false for all I know."

"You already tried to prove that, and failed." I argued tiredly.

Kazuya ignored me. "I want to see this so-called 'change' back into a human."

"I'll be naked." John said bluntly.

Kazuya faltered, but quickly picked up his confidence. "I don't care. This is something of scientific interest."

John sighed, and shrugged. "Fine. Whatever."

"…Yeah. I'm gonna go now." I hurried out of the door. After a few minutes, I could hear them talking.

"…Oh." Kazuya spoke up, his voice filled with shock. "…Oh. I see. It's not fake after all."

When I finally went back in, John was, thankfully, fully dressed and drying his hair with a towel. No traces of the tail could be seen, apart from a scale here or there scattered on the floor. The cats had wandered away, disappointed. Kazuya was just staring, dazed, into thin air.

"…It's real…" He was murmuring to himself. "…It's real…how can this be? How can this be?"

John turned to me cheerfully. "Would you like a ride back? It's pretty late."

"That would be grand." Though the chill was gone, I was still very uncomfortable in my damp clothes and soaked shoes.

John glanced at Kazuya, looking concerned. "Is he ok?"

"Let me check. Kazuya?" I stood in front of him, waving my hand in front of his eyes. He didn't react. "I think he's probably a little out of it." I reported back. "This is a bit of a shock for him."

In fact, for the entire boat journey home, Kazuya barely uttered a word. I think he was in shock. He just kept on staring at the waves, murmuring things about science to himself. When we arrived back on the pier, I had to shake him to snap him out of his daze so he'd get off. In fact, I was so concerned about him, it was decided that John and I would walk him back to SPR. We led him through the streets, one arm around him each, while he stumbled along the roads and pavements.

When we finally arrived at SPR, John suggested to help Kazuya into his room.

"Is he going to be ok?" I asked, after becoming increasingly worried the longer he went without saying anything.

"I think he'll be ok, but I'll keep an eye on him, just in case." John reassured me. "I know it's quite a lot to swallow."

"That's a bit of an understatement." I grinned.

* * *

That night, I lay in bed for a long while, awake, my wet clothes in a heap on the floor. Miraculously, when I entered the house, Houshou was still asleep on the sofa, breathing deeply and surrounded by all his paper files. Giving in to temptation, I took a picture of him on my phone to tease him later before heading up to bed.

Thankful to be in warm, dry clothes, I stared up at the ceiling for a good solid 30 minutes, thinking about what just happened. Eventually, I decided to text Kazuya on the matter.

'_was that all real, or did we just share an acid trip or something.'_

I had to wait a minute or two for a reply, and during this time, I considered whether or not what we had discovered was actually real.

My phone buzzed, and I looked down.

'_I don't know. I think it was real._'

'_i think it was real too_'

'_I just don't understand how this is possible._'

'_yeah ikr_. _r u ok now_'

'_Yes, I am fine. It's just…proving rather hard to sink in, that's all._'

'_lol thats tru_'

'_Are we going to tell anyone about this?_'

I gasped angrily at the screen. '_no! what r u talking about?_'

'_This is a huge scientific find! We can't just keep it to ourselves!_'

Furiously, I decided to take things one step forwards and ring him.

"Hello, Kazuya Shibuya speaking."

"Why are you saying that? I know who you are. Wait, wait, that's beside the point." I began my spiel angrily. "We can't betray John's trust like that! He's our friend, Kazuya! How could you even suggest that?!"

"Well, he's not technically my friend." Kazuya replied coolly. "I'd say we were acquaintances."

"You're friends now!" I decided. "And even if you weren't, that's still a really dickish move to pull! Anyway," I realised to convince him, I was going to have to spark his own self-interest, "the scientific community has enough trouble believing in parapsychology, am I right?"

Kazuya was silent for a minute. "…What's you point?"

Sensing I had struck a nerve, I continued. "How do you think they'd react if you told them you'd found a merperson? Do you think they'd honestly believe you?"

Kazuya was silent for a minute. When he finally spoke up, I could hear the bitterness in his voice.

"…No. They wouldn't."

"Exactly. There's no point in telling anyone. No one will believe you."

"…Ok." Kazuya sighed, defeated. "…But I still think –"

"No."

"Not even your brother?"

"Nope."

"What about your friend, Masako?"

"Nada."

"Ayako?"

"Nein."

"Madoka?"

I snorted. "You hate Madoka."

"Fair point. Fine. We won't tell anyone." He paused. "…You know, you're taking this a lot better than I did."

"Well, believe me, I was shocked too. But…I don't know. I found out I had ESP the other day, and Masako is pretty insistent on being able to see spirits, so…I don't know. It feels like nothing can shock me anymore." Another thought occurred to me. "And, you know, my head's not filled with science and stuff, like yours is."

He made a noise that could have been a chuckle. "I suppose that's true. Good night, Mai."

"Good night."


	10. Chapter 10: The Cave

**(A/N): I'm so sorry I've taken so long to update!**

**I've just had a week or so of mock exams, and I've just had no time to update at all. I'm sorry for the wait.**

**About the question asked by the anonymous reviewer called A.R: I will definitely be carrying on with my other story, The Artefact (Amnesia has already finished) and, in actuality, I am planning to update it very soon. For real this time. I promise. Again, I was going to update it earlier, but mock exams got in the way, so the next time I have a chance, I will update it. Sorry to keep you waiting so long - I guess you could say I've been on an unofficial hiatus with that story? (And as a result of that hiatus, I've started this story, so I guess it hasn't all been bad...right?) Honestly, I really am sorry to have kept you waiting so long.**

**Caves are scary. I don't like caves.**

**Also, ocean pollution is bad.**

**I think that's all I need to say about this chapter...(I'll probably think of something vital I wanted to say a second after I've uploaded the chapter. That always happens.)**

**Thank you very much for reading this story! Thank you for your reviews, favourites, and follows! **

**I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It is early morning, and the night is just beginning to remove its dark cloak from the sky, revealing the pale, painted hues of dawn. The sea is steadily beating against the waves, whispering busily as the new day begins. Seagulls have already taken to the skies, coasting on the gentle breezes that toss and turn the crests of the waves playfully.

I am walking down the beach, and I realise that the sound of footsteps against sand and rock is not my own, but someone else's. A figure in salt stained clothes is stumbling ahead of me. The walk is not treacherous or particularly fatiguing, but the person seems out of breath. After a minute or so, they pause to do up their shoe laces. As they kneel down, the tide comes in and washes over their feet. Groaning in irritation, the person stands up, rolling up their wet sleeves. Briefly, I see a glimpse of something blue and gold: a mermaid tattoo.

The person arrives at their destination – the cliff face. Carefully picking their way over rock pools, they stand just outside what I realise is a cave carved out by the sea into the cliff face. Bending over and spluttering, the person recaptures their breath, before sitting down on a rock, peering into the cave. For a long time, they remain there, staring into the depths. Maybe they are waiting for someone. Whatever they are waiting for, nothing and nobody comes. After a while, sighing in dissatisfaction, the person turns to leave.

* * *

Drifting awake at the sound of my alarm, I struggled out of bed, almost tripping over my clothes. A moment later, after sneezing about five times and being overcome by a splitting headache, I regretted this decision, and crawled slowly back into bed. Groaning, I called up Madoka.

"Hi, Mai!" Her cheery, loud tone made me wince a little. "Is everything ok?"

"Uh…" I sneezed again. "I don't think I'll be able to do the paper round today."

"Oh no, have you got a cold?"

"I think so." Already, I could feel my voice becoming more and more blocked.

"That's fine. I hope you recover soon! Ring me when you're better."

"Thanks." Hanging up, I cursed the sea for giving me a cold, before crawling out of bed once more and opening the trap door.

"Hey!" I called weakly to Houshou. "I don't think I'll be working today!"

"What? Wait a minute." With a sudden flash of panic, I pushed my wet clothes underneath my bed, before scrambling back under the duvet. A second later, the trap door opened, and Houshou climbed into the room, his large and muscular physique from all his training making it a little cumbersome.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice concerned as he sat down on the bed.

"I've got a cold." I told him. "And a temperature." I added, after feeling my burning forehead. "I think I'll just go back to sleep."

"Should I stay home from work?" Houshou asked, his brotherly nature kicking in.

"No, no, I'll be fine. I'll just take some paracetemol and sleep."

"Ok." He patted my head gently. "I'll see you later."

When he had left the room, and I heard clatter downstairs as he got ready to leave, a thought occurred to me. I quickly got out my phone, and selected his contact.

'_dont forget ur badge_'

I heard Houshou shout "Damn it!", and a few minutes later, I got a reply back.

'_I didn't forget :)_'

'_liar_'

'_Ok, ok, don't tell anyone_'

'_if u insist_'

Sometime later, I drifted awake to the sound of my phone buzzing wildly. Sighing, I picked it up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. It was midday now, and the sun was streaming in through the gaps in my blinds. My head wasn't hurting as much, but my nose was completely blocked.

"…Hello?" I asked groggily as I accepted the call, too tired to read the name properly.

"Hey, Mai." It was my brother. "How are you?"

"I was sleeping, until you woke me up."

"Sorry. I was just wondering…" There was a clear hint of suspicion in his voice.

"What?"

"Well, the thing is, Kazuya has just called in, saying he has a really bad cold and a temperature…"

I bit my lip. "Really? What a coincidence."

"Yeah. Strange, isn't it?"

I knew what he was suggesting, and he knew that I knew, but I still remained silent.

"…You weren't…with him last night or anything, were you?"

I snickered. "What, you seriously think that _I_ was out losing my virginity or something?"

"What?! No! I never said that!"

"Good, because we both know that I completely lack the aesthetic appeal for getting laid."

"I'm sure that's not true." Houshou insisted, mistaking my excuse for some kind of dent in confidence. "I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would love…"

We went silent.

"…This is awkward." I spoke up.

"Yeah. I'm going to stop talking about that. It's weird." Houshou agreed.

"Anyway, I probably just caught something off him when I was serving him at SPR. Which," I remembered quickly, "I need to call Ayako about to tell her I won't be taking my shift today."

"Fair enough. Sorry for doubting you."

"I forgive you. How's work?"

Houshou sighed. "Well, I'm not strictly meant to tell you, but it's crap. We can't find a single scrap of evidence."

I shifted uncomfortably in my bed. "So, you don't have any idea about who attacked Noriko?"

"No, but don't worry, Mai. As long as you don't do anything reckless, like walking around the streets at night, you'll be fine. Really."

I thought back to last night, which had involved a lot of walking around the streets at night.

"Y-Yeah. I guess that's true."

"Well, I'll see you later, ok? Ring me if you need anything."

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye."

Hanging up, I lay back down in bed, staring at the ceiling. At least Noriko was ok. But next time, the victim might not be so fortunate. It was only a matter of time before another person was killed.

On my lap, my phone began to buzz again. Sighing, I picked up the phone again, pressing the accept button.

"Mai! Guess what – wait, have you been asleep?" The voice belonged to Masako's.

"No." I yawned. "Yeah. I'm ill."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Will you be better soon?"

"Probably. What's the matter?"

"Oh, yes. Mai, you have to come down to the beach."

"What? But I'm tiiiiiiiiiired…"

"Mai, I saw a ghost."

"…What?"

"There's a ghost down by the old cave. She's been there for a long time, ever since I was younger, but she was always hiding. She's come out, Mai. I saw her. Come quickly."

"But ill, Masako! Ill!"

"Never mind ill! She knows something about the murders!"

I sat upright in bed. "What?"

"Come on! I don't know how long she'll stick around for!"

I sighed heavily. First ESP, then mermaids, now this. "Ok, ok. I'll see you in five, ten, minutes."

* * *

On the beach, the sun was in its height, and the glare of the light reflected off the sea hurt my head. The heat, though, was comforting – despite being a little overwhelming – in comparison to the icy chill of the water yesterday. Today, no one was at the beach, and it was a rare thing. Normally, the cove would be filled with various tourists, children making sand-castles, and nature enthusiasts scouring over the rock pools. If I had to guess, the attack on Noriko had scared everyone away. Only the occasional seagull hopped across the beach.

Standing a little away from a series of rock pools, Masako was peering into a cave, straining her eyes against the darkness. As I approached her, I was hit with a sudden sense of déjà vu. Had I walked along this beach recently? Or…

Immediately, it came flooding back to me. I had a dream last night, didn't I? The person with the mermaid tattoo had come here. They had waited in front of the cave, as if they were waiting for someone. Then, after a while, they just got up and left.

Who were they waiting for? Why were they even here? Unless…

"Masako!" I called over. She glanced at me briefly, then continued staring at the cave. Her entire posture was still and tense; she was watching something, waiting for something. The intentness and urgency of her demeanour made me slow down and approach quietly, not wanting to disturb her concentration. After a moment or so of silence, she turned to me.

"She's gone again. But I think I can convince her to come out again."

"Who? What's going on?"

"When I first moved here, it didn't take me long to realise there was a spirit living in the caves here. A woman." She thought back. "At first, I tried to speak with her, but she always hid, and never revealed herself. I never really saw what she looked like. I only caught mere glimpses here and there." Sighing, she shrugged. "She never seemed to be a malevolent spirit. Just very shy. After a while, I gave up. It was only today…I was walking along the beach, and I stopped by the cave for a moment. And she showed herself."

"What?" I shook my head, confused. "Are you saying there's a real ghost in there? Like, a real, _actual_ ghost?"

Looking a little impatient, Masako sighed. "Yes, Mai. Anyway, as I was saying, she willingly showed herself for the first time. But she's gone away again now. We need to find her."

With that, she began to carefully tread her way towards the cave.

"W-Wait a minute!" I called after her. "A-Are you sure? Isn't this kind of dangerous?"

Masako did not answer, but continued trekking over the rock pools until she reached the entrance of the cave. When I finally caught up with her, I was slightly out of breath, being too tired from my cold to stand any substantial exercise.

"Do we…_have_ to go in there?" I panted, peering inside the cave with discomfort. Caves were definitely not my favourite thing in the world.

"Yes." Masako answered briefly, testing her foot in the thin layer of tidal water that had flooded the cave. "We won't go in for long, but I want to see if I can coax her out again."

Sighing, I begrudgingly followed Masako into the cave, where it was dark and cold and wet. The water cast light onto the cave walls, where the tides and eddies made the reflection shimmer and shake like a flock of startles butterflies, constantly moving and never at a rest. Beneath my sodden feet, the water swirled and sucked; although it was shallow, and barely covered my ankles, it was deceptively dark, looking more like the colour of an abyss than the gentle grey of the Irish sea. Only the snatches of trapped sunlight from outside that was caught on the surface gave the area any light. The walls seemed to swallow all sounds other than the water, which it amplified – the noises of my footsteps against the hard, rock ground or even my frequent sniffing was muffled and covered by the constant hushing of the tide, both placid and overbearing at the same time.

If I was not afraid of caves, I would have found it atmospheric, but the only thing I wanted to do was leave, and go back to bed. Unnerved by the lack of light that obscured my visibility, I fumbled for my phone, hoping to use the bright screen as a torch. However, Masako stopped, and lowered my hand.

"Spirits tend to dislike the light. This one especially." She told me gently.

Shivering, I put the phone away. "There…is there _really_ a spirit?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, who is it? Why do they know about the murders?"

Masako paused, and looked about the cave slowly. Finally, she spoke up.

"…I asked her name, but she wouldn't tell me. Then I asked her what she was doing, and without really thinking, she told me she was waiting for someone. When I asked why, she murmured that 'she wanted to know if they were all dead yet.'."

I felt my blood freeze. Masako continued. "I tried to ask more, but I think she realised what she had just said, and she hid back in here."

The cave seemed a lot darker now; more ominous.

"I don't like this. We should leave." I turned to go, hoping Masako would follow. However, she stubbornly remained where she was.

"…Hello?" She called gently into the darkness. "Are you there?"

"Masako! I really think we should go!" I hissed.

She ignored me. "…Won't you talk to me? I know there aren't many people who can speak to you. Aren't you lonely?"

She paused. When there was no reply, she continued. "Please? Won't you talk to me for just a moment?"

Again, there was no answer. Sighing sadly, Masako turned around to face me.

"It seems she doesn't want to speak." She reported.

"Well, it's probably all for the best, you know?" I shuffled, trying to keep my feet warm as the temperature seemed to drop a little. "I don't know about you, but I don't think speaking to that spirit was a good –"

I stopped.

There was someone behind Masako.

"Masako." I whispered. The temperature in the room had dropped suddenly, and despite the heat outside, I was shivering violently. The terror in my face must have shown, for she turned around, frowning.

"…Oh." When she saw the person standing behind her, she remained admirably calm. "Hello."

The person was staring at Masako, and gave no heed to me. A cascade of blood red hair fell in cascades, shocking against her pale and corpse-like skin. Her eyes were a very dark green, and she wore a summer dress. I think it must have been white, but it was tarnished, and stained with dirt. Even so, the material seemed to glow translucently, as did her skin, which looked more like wax than flesh.

A ghost.

She was watching Masako very carefully, and though her face was solemn and cold, it didn't seem to hold any contempt – more curiosity than anything. The more I stared at her, the more I felt like I recognised her. Where had I seen her before?

"…Hello." Masako bowed. "My name is Masako Hara. What is yours?"

The woman did not reply.

"You've been here for a while, haven't you? I first saw you as a very young child." Masako continued cautiously.

"…Fifteen years." When she finally spoke up, there was something about her voice that was both chilling and captivating; like an icy, silent sea – both cold and emotionless.

"Fifteen years?" It was the first time I had spoken since the woman had appeared.

Masako glanced at me, a frown on her face. "Mai, be careful." She whispered.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her forwards, keeping my eye on the woman nervously. She watched me nonchalantly, but with the exact same intensity.

"She just said she's been here for fifteen years, right?" I whispered frantically. "So she died fifteen years ago. That's the same time as when the Yoshimi murders happened!" There was no way this was a coincidence. I had stopped believing in those a while ago. This woman – this ghost – she must have been involved in some way. What did she know about the Yoshimi murders? And more importantly, what did she know about the recent murders?

Swallowing, I stepped forwards, trying to calm my shaking nerves. I grabbed Masako's hand, and she allowed me to squeeze it tightly in my fear. The spirit observed me calmly.

"H-Hello." I coughed, trying to clear my throat of the nervousness that made it hoarse. "I-I'd like to ask you some quest – some questions."

The spirit said nothing, but raised an eye brow and watched me in amusement, as if waiting for me to make my first pitiful move.

"W-W-What do you know about the Yoshimi murders? Fifteen years ago?"

She laughed, and it was a strange sound. Like water droplets dancing on the surface of a river.

"I was dead before that. But if I hadn't died, you wouldn't be asking me about it."

I glanced at Masako, frowning. What did she mean by that?

"So…you don't happen to know who the murderer was?"

"I never said that."

Whoever this spirit was, she wasn't exactly being co-operative.

"What about the recent murders? The death of the fishermen, and the attempted murder? Do you know who the murderer is?"

"I do."

I inhaled sharply.

"Y-You do?! Who is it?"

"I can't tell you that."

I attempted to clamp down on my growing frustration. "Why not?"

"Because I asked him to do it."

The blood drained from my face.

"We need to go." I turned and ran, dragging Masako behind me. Around me, I could feel the temperature dropping even further. The gaze of the woman was on my back, drilling into me.

Outside, the chill of the cave was evaporated immediately, and I felt the dead weight that had gradually crept onto my chest lift. Bending over, panting, I glanced back into the cave.

The spirit was no longer visible. However, I could not shake the feeling that she was still there, watching us.

"…Do you…do you think…that she'll follow us?" I asked, between gasps of breath.

"…I don't think so. She's site-bound." Masako kept her voice even, although I could see the shock on her face. She turned to me.

"That woman is in danger. She seems to be very involved in these murders. If she's not careful, she'll turn into a malign spirit."

"Huh?"

"When spirits stay around for too long, without passing over to the other side, they often…change. Normally not in a good way. Sometimes the actions of other humans play a role, or sometimes it's their own negative feelings that they were experiencing before their death that cause the changes. Whatever the reason, she seems to have a lot of pent-up rage within her, and it's caused her to reach out to our murderer with the mermaid tattoo. If this goes on for too long, she might become dangerous. It's a miracle that she hasn't reached that stage already."

Shivering, I straightened up. "What can we do?"

"Convincing her to move on might be hard. But right now, I'm concerned about these murders." Masako frowned. "She knows exactly what's going on here. But there's no way she'll tell us."

"So, she's the murderer's accomplice?"

"I don't think so. I think it's more that she's giving the murderer the idea. Asking him to go and kill these people. She might be involved in the planning, but I don't think she's actively taking part in the killing itself."

A thought occurred to me. "Well, we do know one thing."

"What's that?"

"She slipped up right at the end there. She said 'I asked him to'. That means our murderer is a man."

Absent-mindedly, Masako brushed some sand off her clothes. From her calm demeanour, I would not have guessed that she had just spoken to a ghost in cahoots with a murderer.

"What do we do now, then?" She wondered. "Tell Kazuya?"

"Yeah. We can't exactly tell the rest of the police that a ghost is ordering the murders." The sentence sounded extremely bizarre, but honestly, nothing phased me any more. "But…did you recognise her?"

Frowning in bemusement, Masako shook her head. "No. You did?"

"Yeah. I swear I've seen her somewhere before. I just can't remember where…" If we just knew who she was, it might give us a clue as to who the murderer was. And she died fifteen years ago…

Who was this woman, and what did she know about the Yoshimi murders?


	11. Chapter 11: Yoshimi Fisheries

**(A/N): Hello again! How is everyone?**

**On the list of 'Things Delaying my Updates' is English coursework - unfortunately, I have the deadline for both of the pieces of coursework I have to complete (we have to do 2 of them, as if 1 wasn't enough). When it actually comes to my exams, updates will be at a minimal, annoyingly, but that's just the way, I guess. On the other hand, I can upload a lot more in the summer. **

**Sometimes, it's very annoying when I read through the chapter I've just updated, and I see a stupid mistake that I missed, but people have already read it. Oh well.**

**Hideo Atsuki is a character from the Blood-stained Labyrinth arc, who works with the Minami Psychic Research team (He later goes missing and is killed by Urado). Chie Igurashi and Naoko Suzuki are two other parapsychological investigators in the Blood-stained Labyrinth arc, and like Atsuki, Suzuki also goes missing and is killed by Urado. (Most of you will recognise the characters, but I understand that it's easy to froget the names of all the minor characters, especially considering how many there are in Ghost Hunt.)**

**If you ever have any questions, just go ahead and ask.**

**Thank you for reading this story! Thank you for all your follows, favourites and reveiws! **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

That evening, I had recovered enough to actually take my shift at SPR; or rather, I had decided that it was more important to go and find Kazuya than stay at home, and I wasn't so ill that I couldn't move. Once more, the restaurant was filled with locals, but I couldn't spot a single tourist. Again, everyone was gathering around Madoka, listening intently to the new gossip she had managed to acquire about the case – all apart from Lin, who remained socially detached as usual, Yasuhara, who wasn't present, for some reason, and Kazuya, who also was absent.

"What's going on over there?" I asked, sneezing, when I came into the main room after getting changed, pinning my hair up out of the way.

"I don't know." Masako admitted, having just finished serving a customer. "Something about a law suit."

I frowned, surprised. I had expected her to be talking about the murder. Why had a lawsuit piqued her interest?

"Do you know what it's about?" John had approached, looking intrigued at the hoard that had gathered at the front of the bar, like the group of seagulls just outside the restaurant, fighting over scraps.

At his presence, I froze entirely, as I remembered the events of last night.

"U-Uh…Umm…" All I could think of was the fact he was a merperson. "I, um…"

He frowned, and tilted his head. "Mai, are you ok?"

I forced a smile. "Y-Yeah! I'm com – completely fine! Absolutely grand!"

He seemed to realise what I was thinking about, and gestured subtly to Masako, who was looking between us both, confused.

"I, uh," I coughed, understanding that he wanted me to stop acting suspiciously, "No. Do you, Masako?"

"No, I'm not sure. But knowing Madoka, it's probably something scandalous." Masako guessed.

As the night went on, the seat underneath the chandelier remained empty, and our efforts to find Kazuya were dwindling. However, I became more and more curious about what was being talked about, and as I poured some Guiness into a pint at the counter, I took the opportunity to listen in.

"…can he actually do it?" A man was asking Madoka. "It all seems a little petty to me."

Madoka shrugged, and took a drink. "Who knows? It depends how good his lawyer is. Now that I think about it, Hideharu was actually arrested the other day, wasn't he? For assaulting an officer."

Everyone murmured in agreement.

"I know that he's been allowed on bail, and that when he goes to court, the sentence will be pretty light – I really don't think they care enough for anything drastic – but I reckon Hideharu hopes that, by bringing this lawsuit against the police, he'll be able to make a deal with them. If they drop the assault charges, he'll drop his charges."

Wait, Hideharu? That was Yasuhara's father. Was he trying to win a lawsuit against the police?

"Really, I think he's just wasting his money." One man called out. "And the private detective too? He's going way overboard with this thing!"

Madoka shrugged. "He's a proud man. The graffiti incidents were humiliating for him. Now with these murders, he's angry because the police aren't paying attention to his problems anymore, so he's hired someone else to sort them out."

"Selfish git…" Someone muttered.

"Well, that's what I'm guessing, anyway. He's hired…Hideo Atsuki, I think he was called. To be honest like, he seems a little…meek to me. Bad choice of detective. I'd only talked to him for half a minute before he slipped up and spilled the beans."

As if on cue, the door opened, and someone walked uncertainly into the restaurant. Nervous, timid and – like Madoka had said – meek, he gave the gaggle of people who stared at him an uneasy look, before he walked to the far corner of the restaurant and sat down.

"Is that him?" I whispered to Madoka.

"Looks like it. I can't imagine why Hideharu decided to choose _him_ to investigate the graffiti problem."

When my shift ended, and I got changed back into my normal clothes, I made sure to tell what I had found out to Masako.

"Against the police?" Masako sounded as surprised as I did. "Why does he want to do that? And why against them?"

"I don't know. He definitely doesn't like them much, does he?" Then a thought occurred to me. "…Actually, that's pretty strange in itself. He used to be an officer, apparently."

Masako frowned. "That is strange. Maybe this is about the graffiti problem? Because they're not giving it enough attention."

"I'm not so sure. I wouldn't think you'd be able to sue the local police because they were prioritising a murder case over a minor act of vandalism. Besides, he's hired a private detective for that, anyway."

Masako looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. He doesn't really look…private detective material, you know? Acts like he's being the one investigated."

"Oh, was he the one who sat in the corner the whole time?"

"Yeah. Hard to believe he's a private detective, isn't it?"

"Yes." She agreed.

Outside, most of the seagulls had flown away, with the majority of the scraps being devoured by them. Only a few stragglers pecked the ground miserably, searching for the scarce crumbs that remained from the feast. This time, I did not go and fetch my bike; despite the work he was drowning in, Houshou had insisted that he drive me to and from my shift, considering what happened to Noriko. Right now, he was parked by the road, waiting impatiently in the car as I lingered behind, talking to Masako.

"What should we do about Kazuya?" Masako asked. "We can't leave this hanging too long. The spirit might request a new murder if we wait."

"Well, we can't ring him. I've tried, and he won't pick up. Texted him, too. He won't reply."

"Maybe you should just drop the subtlety in your texts and just say 'we found a ghost who is in cahoots with the murderer'."

"I already have."

Somehow, my lack of tact did not surprise Masako. "You know, I won't be surprised if that's scared him off."

"I wouldn't think so." I crossed my arms, thinking back to when I first met him. "I'm pretty sure he said that he deals with spirits and ESP and…PK? And stuff. Like, I know the mermaid thing surprised him, but I'm pretty sure ghosts fall under his parapsychology repertoire."

"Wait…mermaids?" Masako threw me a puzzled look.

With panic, I realised that I had said too much. "U-U-Um, ah, I-I better go." I gestured hastily to the car. "It was bad enough convincing him to let me take a night shift again. You know what brothers are like, right? So overprotective! I better not keep him waiting. See you later!" I hurried away, leaving Masako rather bemused by my long string of rambling comments.

Hurrying into the car, I tried not to make myself look too rushed, and closed the door carefully, waving to Masako. Beside me, Houshou gave me an irritated glance.

"You took your time." He complained.

"I was talking about something important. If you don't want to wait, then don't bother picking me up."

Houshou sighed as he pulled back into the road. "Sorry. I've had a busy day."

His remark sparked my interest. "Busy day?"

"It's complicated. Never mind."

Innocently, I put my fingers together and asked, "It's nothing to do with…I don't know…a lawsuit, say?"

Houshou turned to me, alarmed. "Wait, how did you know that?!"

"Take a guess."

He sighed again, this time in anger, and gritted his teeth. "That journalist is going to be the death of me…"

"Well? Why is Yasuhara's father trying to sue you all?"

"It's because my stupid partner went onto his boat without a warrant. Without a warrant, it's illegal."

"B-But, Kazuya was right! There was a bomb on there!"

"Hideharu doesn't care about that. He just wants to scare us so that we'll drop the assault charges." He grimaced, touching the bruise on his chin where he had been punched. "Not feicing likely."

Somehow, the story made me feel a huge surge of sympathy for Yasuhara. Even though his father had such a bad reputation here, Yasuhara himself was a nice person. It didn't seem fair that he had to put up with the arrogant and, frankly, idiotic conduct of his father. At the restaurant, all the locals certainly seemed to hold the man in disdain.

Actually, it seemed pretty strange to me. Although they talked about him behind his back, none of the fishermen ever seemed to go out of their way to argue with Hideharu, or tell him to stop. It wasn't like they wouldn't – on my first day of the job, I was reprimanded numerous times for being too slow, and then even Ayako got various complaints about my apparently inadequate skills as a waitress. When I had apologised profusely to Ayako, she had brushed it off with a laugh, and stated that the fishermen were always like that. Yet they never said a word to Hideharu, regardless of his many shortcomings. It seemed very unlike them, and I wondered if that was because they were colleagues. However, there was a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that made me think otherwise. In fact, there was something about Hideharu that made me feel uncomfortable – suspicious of him, even.

* * *

I am staring at the door of a house.

I look around, and am immediately confused about my surroundings. I can hear the sea, and the screaming gulls. A light house towers in the distance, the sea crashing against its hull. The road is narrow and winding, and a peer strains out into the bay.

I am undoubtedly in Carlington. But there is something different.

The road is cracked and in need of being repaired. The houses are different colours. And, looking up to the castle, I see that the scaffolding that holds together the ruins is gone.

I am in Carlington. But not the Carlington I know.

Unnerved, I turn my attention back to the door. I step back, and look at the building. After a few moments of uncertainty, I realise that this building is the Seagull's Point Restaurant. Except right now, it is not. A sign hangs down, showing a blue fish that is smiling. In a sharp font, the words 'Yoshimi Fisheries' has been painted.

Carefully, I stand closer to the door, and I place my ear against the wood. Inside, I can hear a ferocious argument taking place. When I press too much of my weight against the door, it opens slightly, and I almost fall over. It's unlocked. For a moment, I hesitate; then I step inside.

I am taken aback by the strangeness of walking into the building, and seeing the layout of Ayako's restaurant, yet the room being bare of the heavy décor and occasional potted plant. There is a counter, and the kitchen is not separated from it. A menu has been placed above it, listing the various meals that can be bought here. There are a few tables and seats, but right now, no one is present.

Cautiously, I follow the sound of voices. It leads me to the kitchen area. Two men are talking. One has my back to me, and the other has been washing dishes. He still holds a plate in his hand, and a towel, but he is not drying it. Instead, the two of them are locked in a fierce argument.

Gradually, the man with the plate begins to look more and more concerned. The man with his back to me is growing more and more angry. He keeps on shouting the same thing over and over again.

"It's your fault! It's your fault!"

The angry man lunges forwards. It happens without warning. He grabs the other man, and places his hands at his neck. Then, before the other man can struggle, he forces his head into the water-filled sink.

I turn away, feeling sick. I can hear flailing and the crash of the plate smashing onto the floor. But in less than a minute, it is over.

The angry man steps away, panting hard. He looks at his hands, then looks at the lifeless body, whose head is still in the sink. He doubles over, and retches. Then he straightens up.

"It's your fault."

* * *

The next morning, I decided that my next course of action should be to find Kazuya, and it was with great haste that I cycled around the village, hurling the newspapers at each door, not bothering to stop. It was a wonder that I didn't skid and crash. However, the importance of contacting Kazuya was clear in my mind; not only did I need to tell him about the ghost, but I needed to inform him about the dream I had just had. I was certain it was about the Yoshimi murders. The sign on the building had mentioned their name, and the victim had been drowned, like Lin had said. Drowned in his own sink.

Again, the weather today was sunny and warm, enveloping the town in a sleepy haze. However, despite the perfect summer weather, everyone was on edge. The presence of the murderer with the mermaid tattoo dampened the atmosphere like a storm.

Finally, I finished my paper round, and stopped outside the police station. Today, the station seemed busy, but not overwhelmed with people – more like that the officers were hurrying around in a palaver. In fact, everyone was so rushed, I ended up having to wait outside my brother's officer, sharing an uncomfortable silence in the waiting room with two strangers, while the urgency of the information swirled in my head.

"…Is it always this busy?" One of the strangers spoke up, startling me from my thoughts.

"No. Not always."

"I see." The stranger nodded thoughtfully. It was a woman, probably in her fifties. From her demeanour and her crisp suit, she looked professional and firm. I had the feeling that she was not one to be argued with. However, there was a softness about her eyes that made me think that her bark was probably worse than her bite.

At my inquisitive staring, she passed me a business card.

"Chie Igurashi." She introduced herself. Looking on the card, I saw it stated she was a lawyer.

Wait…a lawyer…

Was this the woman who Hideharu had hired to sue the police department?

"M-Mai Taniyama." I introduced myself quickly. "My brother works here."

"Ah, I see." She gestured to the other stranger. "This is my assistant, Naoko Suzuki."

Like her, Suzuki wore an expensive suit, but her confidence seemed scarce in comparison to Chie Igurashi's.

"Nice to meet you." She sounded just as nervous as I did.

If I had not been called into the office, I am sure that an uncomfortable silence would have hung in the air again, since Chie Igurashi had realised that the police force she was helping to sue contained my brother. I was glad when I could leave.

When I entered the office, the condition of it was just as bad, or perhaps even worse, as when I had last seen it. Papers were still strewn about the place, the bin was overflowing, and boxes had fallen over, spilling out their files that contributed to the mess on the floor.

With a start, I realised a man was talking to my brother. Nervously, I sidestepped away from the door as he turned around and left the office, scribbling something down on a notepad. After a moment, I realised that the man was one Hideo Atsuki, the private detective that Madoka had spoken about last night.

My brother was sitting at the desk, head on the surface, in complete defeat. Kazuya half-heartedly leafed through files, barely paying any attention to their contents.

"Um..hi." At my entrance, they both jumped.

"O-Oh, hey Mai." Houshou grabbed some files to make it look as if he was actually doing something. I'm pretty sure the files were upside down.

"So…what's all this?" I gestured to the ocean of files in front of me.

"I wish I could say that most of it was to do with the case." Houshou groaned quietly. "It's that stupid lawsuit."

"Who was that?" I jerked my thumb to the door that the Hideo Atsuki had just walked out of. "Why was the private detective here?"

"I see you heard." Kazuya's mouth twitched in irritation. "He's a piece of work, that man."

I frowned in puzzlement. "Him? He looks like a huge pushover."

Houshou laughed bitterly. "Don't be fooled. He pretends to be timid to catch you off guard; he's actually more ferocious and thorough than Madoka. I had a few encounters with him in the police force back in Dublin."

"Really?" I was surprised. "Last night at SPR, he hid away in the corner. He looked terrified."

"I can guarantee that he was actually listening in on every word that everyone was saying. Best private detective in this part of the country. The lawyers are very high standard, too. I'd love to know where he gets his money."

"Oh, yeah. Those lawyers are in the waiting room." I informed him.

Houshou didn't even look like he cared anymore. He was so frustrated, his capability to feel worried had left him.

"I'll go talk to them." He stood up, his voice flat.

As soon as he had left, I turned to Kazuya. Grabbing his arm, I dragged him aside, just in case anyone came in.

"Kazuya." I addressed him in a quiet voice. "You have to carry on investigating the Yoshimi murders." Before he could say a word, I carried on. "I had a dream last night. I had a dream about the first Yoshimi murder."

Kazuya revealed nothing on his face, but pursed his lips. "…What happened?"

"Someone was arguing with a man. Saying 'It's all your fault' over and over again. Then he drowned the other man in the sink. The building where it happened…it was called Yoshimi Fisheries, but it was the building that's now Seagull's Point Restaurant."

Kazuya inhaled sharply. "…This was all in your dream?"

I nodded. "There's more. Yesterday, Masako called me down to the beach. We saw a ghost. A woman with red hair." I swallowed. "She asked the murderer to kill people. She's in cahoots with him."

In response to this enthral of information, Kazuya fell into a troubled silence, absorbing all he had been told. After a minute or so of contemplation, he finally spoke up again.

"…Do you know her name? The ghost's?" I would have been surprised at his readiness to accept my word, but then again, he was a parapsychologist.

"No. But I feel like I recognise her from somewhere…I just don't know where."

"Hm. What did she look like?"

"Um…she had red hair. Green eyes. She wore this…white dress that was really dirty. She was very beautiful."

"Did she say anything about the murders? The current ones? Or the Yoshimi murders?"

"Well, she said she asked for the recent murders." Kazuya inhaled sharply at this. "And she said she was dead before the Yoshimi murders, but…" I thought back to her strange words. "She didn't deny knowing about them. And she said that, if she hadn't died, 'we wouldn't be asking'."

Again, Kazuya considered this carefully. "…I think that means her death…it must have had a contributing factor to the deaths in the Yoshimi family."

That made sense… "Is that why, in my dream, the murderer kept on saying 'it's your fault'?"

"It could very well be. She didn't say anything about our murderer, did she?"

"She only mentioned their gender in passing. She used 'him', so I'm guessing it's a man."

"Anything else?"

I shook my head. "If she wanted the murders to happen, then it makes sense that she wouldn't tell us anything about the murderer." A thought occurred to me. "Oh yeah, by the way, why didn't you reply to my texts? I sent you loads of messages. I even said 'the ghost is in cahoots with the murderer' in one."

"I've lost my phone." He looked at the messy room in annoyance. "It's probably lost underneath this mess here."

Sighing, I sat on the table. "…Well? What're we going to do?"

He sat next to me. "…It's a troubling issue. All I can do is investigate the Yoshimi murders while I can, and try and identify this ghost. Other than that, there's not much I can do."

* * *

Later that night, as I lay in bed, I turned over the troubling revelations in my head. The Yoshimi murders – which took place in what was now Seagull's Point Restaurant – were undeniably linked to these murders, which had been ordered by a ghost. It was unbelievably complex, unrealistically so; like the story in a television drama.

One thought in particular lingered in my head. That woman in the cave, that spirit, where had I seen her before? It was infuriating. I knew I had seen her before, perhaps just briefly, but I couldn't figure out where. What's more, her identity was vital to this case; if we knew who she was, it might give us a clue as to whose mind she was planting the ideas of murder into.

Most infuriating of all, I had no idea how to control my ESP. It was a very new skill, but if I was able to manipulate it more…this case wouldn't even be ongoing. I could find out the name of the murderer, and the case would be solved. The murders would stop. But so far, my dreams had only revealed little snippets of information, almost taunting me – giving me enough information to fuel the case, but never enough to end the case once and for all.

Sighing, I tossed and turned in my bed, as restless as if I was in a boat at sea. The endless questions playing in my head made sleep difficult. When would this case end? Would the murderer finally give up his bloody work? I had a feeling that the entire town was waiting for this answer with baited breath.

Morning came, and the town finally had its answer.

It was with some difficulty that I pushed myself out of bed. It was the height of summer, yet all the drowsy warmth of the previous days had been sapped away by a restless wind, biting and cold, snapping at the town to wake up.

Wearily, I looked out of the window, and after some debate in my head, I pushed open the glass. The cold slapped me in the face, waking me up as it gnawed at my skin savagely. But over its constant whining, a noise cut across the air, more pertinent than a seagull's scream, and a lot more unnerving.

It was the sounds of an ambulance, its sirens wailing through the hushed morning.

Not bothering to get changed – simply pulling on my long winter coat – I ran outside, following the noise down the streets. Many other people were doing the same, wondering what the commotion was so early in the morning. I had no idea where my brother was. Maybe he'd already gone to investigate the source of tumult.

After some time, I found a large crowd gathered around a street, where the station was situated. Anxiously, I slipped through the crowd, pushing here and there, needing to see what was going on. Eventually, my path was blocked by police tape. I looked onto the scene. An ambulance had arrived, and I spotted Kazuya helping to wheel a stretcher into the ambulance. He looked shaken up. A blue body bag was on that stretcher.

My brother was talking to a shaken care taker, on the other side of the tape. The road and steps to the police station was empty, save for the blood stains on the ground and the white-clad forensic scientists who moved slowly around the scene, like wandering ghosts in the dim light of the morning.

I'd seen enough. Feeling sick, I slipped out of the crowd. Once I was clear of the people, I doubled over and began to retch. Another murder. All that blood. I'd had enough. I'd had enough of this.

Someone was patting my back, and Yasuhara helped me straighten up.

"Are you ok?" He asked me quietly. Like me, his face was ashen. He had probably seen the blood, too. So much blood. More than when Noriko was stabbed. Enough to be fatal. Enough to take away a life – reduce a living, breathing person to a body covered by blue plastic…

"I'm going to be sick." I whispered to him. Without a word, he helped me stagger to a bin, and held back my hair as I threw up. First Noriko, now this. Who had been killed now? Who was next?

Eventually, I stopped, and wiped my mouth. A vile taste lingered in my mouth.

"…Who was it?" I whispered.

"Hideo Atsuki." The voice was not Yauhara's. Both surprised, we looked to the crowd. Kazuya had pushed his way through, and stood by us. None of the onlookers noticed him or buried him in questions; they were far too engrossed by the bloody scene in front of them. "The private detective." He gritted his teeth. "…Well, I found my phone."

When his strange remark finally sunk in, my stomach dropped.

"No…you don't mean…?"

He nodded curtly. "Atsuki had my phone in his hands. We think it had been placed there."

He stepped closer to me and lowered his voice, casting a furtive glance at the other officers. "…Someone had been going through my messages. The messages you sent me."

Without saying a word, we both realised what this meant. The murderer had seen my message about the ghost. The murderer knew we were getting closer to the truth.

Was this new crime a warning? Of what would happen to us if we came too close to the truth of the murders?


	12. Chapter 12: All Netted Up

**(A/N): I would like to say a huge thank you to tumblr user paninio, who drew the most adorable fan art of John as a merperson and posted it on tumblr. You should definitely go check it out - it's really cute! Thank you so, so, so much - I still can't believe someone made fan art of my story! I'm very, very happy :D Thank you! The tail was just how I imagined it, too! :)**

**February half term is coming up, and I'm hoping I'll be able to do more writing. At the very least, I'll try and keep it to a weekly upload (for both of my on-gong stories - this one and The Artefact)**

**Thank you very much for reading this story, and thank you to paninio for taking the time to draw such an amazing fanart. Thank you for following, favouriting and reviewing.**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The town tell into silent shock.

Noriko's attack had been bad enough, but now, someone had died. Suddenly, the 'Murderer with the Mermaid Tattoo' was no longer a shadowy, far away figure lurking mysteriously in the dark. Suddenly, it was all very real.

Even at SPR, everyone talked in hushed undertones, glancing suspiciously at each other, as if the murderer was lurking nearby. Their uneasiness was justified. The scariest thing was, the murderer could be anywhere – anyone – and no one would know.

"This is a small town, Mai." Ayako told me when I mentioned the fearful behaviour of the locals. "Everyone knows everyone."

"I don't." I pointed out.

"You've barely been here a month. But everyone else does. These murders could have been committed by anyone here. Everyone is wondering, 'Do I know the murderer? Are they my friend? My neighbour?' No one knows who to trust anymore."

Her words seemed to ring true; some were more subdued, while others snapped quickly, fast to blame and distrust.

Hideharu Matsuyama, Yasuhara's father, seemed particularly affected by it. Ever since the incident, I barely saw Yasuhara anymore. He didn't come to SPR, and I never saw him in the streets. I wondered if his father was keeping him away from the town, in fear that he would be next.

The next time I saw Yasuhara was a week after the murder. I had just finished my paper round, and as I walked past the sea and the pier, my eye fell on a figure sitting by the rock pools. From where I stood, I could just make out Yasuhara, throwing stones into the water.

Immediately, I was overcome by worry. He was far too close to the cave for my liking. What if he was attacked by the ghost? What if the ghost decided that he should be the next victim?

However, when I reached him, he appeared unharmed, and I could see no trace of the ghost in the caves. Only an unnerving chill set upon the scene when I arrived, and I knew that the woman was in there, watching me. Though she had hidden herself again, her presence was undeniable to me.

At my appearance, Yasuhara looked up at me briefly, before continuing to throw stones into the ocean. He did not bother to skim them, and instead they sunk unsatisfyingly into the waves with a meek splash.

"…Yasuhara?" I called his name quietly. He did not respond, and I was not sure how to react. His mood struck me as both foul and upset. After a moment of hesitation, I decided to sit next to him. We remained in silence, choosing to watch the waves rather than converse. It rushed gently at the rocks we were sitting on, brushing at our feet but never close enough to soak us.

"…Are you ok? I haven't seen you at SPR recently." At last, I ventured a question.

After a while, he replied, but did not answer my question. "…My father hired that man. To find out who graffittied the property."

I shivered at the thought of the crime scene. He continued.

"…He was stabbed. Like Noriko. But this time, no one was around to help him."

"Yasuhara –"

"I heard he was stabbed fourteen times. Fourteen."

"Yasuhara, please. I don't want to talk about this."

He sighed. "…I'm sorry. I just…I'm sorry."

"It's ok." I patted his hand. We went back to watching the tide break upon the shore. No more was said between us.

* * *

Despite the tension and the chaos that had swarmed the town, I was determined to see Kazuya, and discuss with him the results of my report. Though he could no longer use his phone, getting hold of him wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. When I went down to the police station, he was by himself in the office, reading eagerly through case files. This surprised me – I had expected him to be out questioning people, like my brother was. Instead, it seemed he had been abandoned at the police station.

He didn't notice me come into the room; he was too absorbed in his reading. Eventually, I had to cough very loudly to get his attention.

Immediately, he put down the file. "Are you here to talk about the investigation?" He took no time getting down to business.

I looked around the room. "The station's pretty empty today. Where is everyone?"

"They're out investigating. I was told to stay here and research facts about the case."

He didn't sound particularly happy about it, and I felt a pang of sympathy for him. "W-Well, at least we can investigate the Yoshimi murders in peace now!" I sat down beside him.

Troubled, he passed me the file. "There's a problem about that. This is the only information on the case. There's virtually nothing."

Frowning, I read the file. It was a small news report. It mentioned the names of the victims, and the lead officer. Apart from that, there was nothing useful.

"…Hm." I put down the file. "…I have…a suggestion."

He looked at me, interested. "What is it?"

"…The lead officer was Hideharu Matsuyama. Yasuhara's father. Do you think he has some information about the case?"

"Well, I'd be surprised if he didn't. He was the lead officer, in case you forgot."

"I know that! What I _mean_ is that…I think he's…hiding…the information."

"What?"

"Think about it. All the information is gone about this case. Considering it was a serial murder, you'd think that there'd be loads of information about it here. But there isn't."

Kazuya caught on immediately. "Yes…it's strange that there is so little information, and it would be highly unusual for the police to fail to record the details of such a large and bloody case."

"So…where is all the information?" I prompted.

"Someone took it. And you believe that Hideharu Matsuyama is the one withholding the information?"

"Yeah." There was something I disliked about that man, something that made me uneasy. Despite his hated reputation, he had some kind of hold over the town, and money and influence that I couldn't imagine a mere fisherman possessing.

"It makes sense. He was the lead officer. At the very least, he must have some sort of idea as to what happened to the information…" As he mulled over it, another thought occurred to him. "This is all very well and good, but how do you propose we obtain this information? In cases you haven't noticed, he's a very unpleasant man, and I don't think he'd be pleased if we accused him of this crime."

I thought about it for a while. Then I had an idea.

"How about we break into his house, and look for the information?" I suggested.

Strangely, he began to chuckle. I threw him a puzzled look. When he saw my expression, his face dropped.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. Obviously."

He sighed deeply, put his face in his hands, and then turned towards me.

"Mai. You cannot break into someone's house. It is against the law."

"I never said _I_ would. I said _we_ would."

"You are overlooking the main problem here."

"But we need to solve the case!" I protested.

"I'd rather do that _without_ breaking the law. I've already been reprimanded for that once."

I realised he was talking about the search on the boat that had given Hideharu Matsuyama a reason to sue the police.

"Oh, come on. Imagine if we managed to find the information! Imagine how beneficial that would be for the case!"

Kazuya folded his arms stubbornly. "Don't be absurd. We're not breaking in."

* * *

And that's how we found ourselves hiding in the bushes outside Yasuhara's house. The sun had gone down, and darkness was beginning to creep into the town.

"If we get caught," Kazuya whispered, "and arrested, I'm blaming you."

"Thanks very much. Now be quiet."

A clamour caught our attention. Two figures had walked outside the relatively large house that belonged to the Matsuyama's. It wasn't as big as Masako's, but was a lot larger than most of the houses around here. They had a small front garden, which was a lot more than what anyone else around here had, and which was filled with various coloured shrubs. We were hiding behind one.

"Where's Yasuhara?" A woman asked. I didn't recognise her, but I assumed she was Yasuhara's mother.

"I don't know. Out." A man – Hideharu Matsuyama – replied with irritation.

"He shouldn't be out." She complained, opening the door of an expensive looking car.

"He'll be fine. We're going to be late if we don't hurry." They both got in, and drove away. We watched tensely.

"…Ok. Let's go." I whispered when I was sure they had gone.

"You've been planning this, haven't you?" Kazuya muttered.

I ignored him. "Now, the tricky part is getting in. They've upped their security system, because they've been worried about the murderer. They have a built in alarm and motion sensors inside. Basic security for in a city, but out here, I'm guessing everyone's a lot more lenient with their security. Picking the door will be easy, but an alarm will go off on the inside, and the more we move around, the more it will be triggered. If we're able to stop the alarm from notifying the police, then I'm sure we'll be fine."

Kazuya gave me a strange look. "You seem to know a lot about breaking and entering."

"You should too. You're an officer. Anyway, my brother taught me about it. If you know the tricks of thieves, you'll be able to avoid getting tricked by them in the future."

He looked dubious at my philosophy, but I didn't really care. Casting a nervous glance over my shoulder, I knelt down by the door, and inserted a wire, holding it steady with a thin sheet of card underneath it. Using the wire, I felt for notches within the lock. Whenever I came across one, I tried pushing it upwards, moving on until I found one that budged.

"Hurry up, will you?" Kazuya kept on looking around, his lips pursed. "What if we get caught?"

There was a satisfying click, and tentatively, I turned the door handle. It opened.

"Ok, in, in! We need to stop the alarm!" I ushered him in, and closed the door behind me.

Inside, my attention was immediately drawn to the alarm. It was ringing, loudly. If we weren't quick enough, someone would be alerted, and we'd get caught.

"Ok…Let me look…" I stepped towards it, when Kazuya suddenly pushed me aside hastily.

"Hey! What're you –"

"Sh. Let me concentrate."

There was a strange tone in his voice that made me think twice before arguing. Kazuya stood in front of the alarm, his hand hovering over the buttons. There was an intensity in his gaze that struck me as odd; his eyes flitted from one button to the next. He was biting his lip so hard, I thought he might make it bleed. His face had gone quite pale.

Suddenly, he let out a shaky breath, and punched in a set of numbers. The alarm stopped.

I stared in amazement. What had he done?

Swaying, he leant back against the wall, and slid to the floor, breathing hard. His hands were shaking, as if he had just done a marathon.

Concerned, I sat beside him. "…Kazuya? Are you ok?"

He leant his head against the wall and closed his eyes. "Just let me rest. For a minute."

Silently, I complied to his request. Soon, his breathing wasn't as forced, and his face had regained colour.

"…Ok. Let's go." He got to his feet, and began to walk down the hall, leaving me wondering what on earth he had just done.

However, soon I became absorbed in our search. Yasuhara's house was very large, but devoid of affection or personality. The walls, furniture and décor was all stylish and expensive – mainly black and white – but everything felt…unfriendly. As if this household was a cold one. There were no pictures, just bland and passionless paintings hung on the wall. There was a bouquet of white roses in a glass vase in one room. No one had bothered to take off the thorns.

"Where do you think the information might be?" I asked, looking inside the living room, which was tastefully unhomely.

"I would guess that Matsuyama would want to keep it somewhere close to him. Maybe his bedroom."

Cautiously we walked up the stairs, Kazuya moving a little more slowly than me. He seemed tired after what happened by the alarm, and I still couldn't understand how he'd managed to stop it.

Upstairs, we had to look in each room to find Hideharu's bedroom. We caught a glimpse of what must have been Yasuhara's room – colourful, slightly messy, and crammed full of various study books. I didn't look for long. The feeling of trespassing into his room in particular was very disconcerting.

It didn't take long to find Hideharu's room. It was large, with a double bed and a large wardrobe and chest of drawers, but unnervingly organised and tidy. Again, it seemed devoid of personality. A room at Ikea probably had more feeling than this.

"Ok." I clapped my hands together. "Where should we start?"

Kazuya looked around the room, shuffling uncomfortably. "I don't know. You were the one who suggested this."

We searched and searched, but we couldn't find a thing. I was increasingly aware of time ticking by, and I had no idea when the Matsuyama's would come back. We had already wasted an hour, and come up with nothing.

"It has to be somewhere." I swept my gaze wildly across the room, like I had done several times. "Where is it?!"

Kazuya sat down on the bed, and sighed. "Maybe Matsuyama really doesn't have the case information."

Disappointed, I sat down next to him. "So…you think we broke in all this way for nothing?"

He didn't reply.

"…Look, I'm really –"

"Wait." He was staring up at the ceiling. Frowning, I tried to see what he was looking at. The ceiling was bare.

"What is it?"

"…Humans have a natural tendency not to pay attention to high areas. If we're looking for something, our first thought is to look behind or inside things. We never look up."

I caught on. "You think he's hidden it on the ceiling?" When I looked up again, I spotted something that I had missed previously. There was a faint outline just next to an ornate chandelier, in the shape of a square.

"…How are we going to reach it?" I wondered.

In the end, Kazuya had to lift me in a piggy back while we stood on the bed, and I reached up and strained to remove the panel on the ceiling. I was certain the case information was hidden here – I could feel the outline in the plaster where one of the ceiling tiles were loose.

"Have you got it loose yet?" Kazuya called up. He kept on wobbling, since the bed was not a very stable platform, and I was terrified we were going to fall.

"W-Wait…" I strained with all my might.

"Take your time." Kazuya called sarcastically. "We've got all the time in the world."

"Shut up! You're not helping!"

With no warning, the panel lifted, and I pushed it up.

"Ew." I felt around inside the compartment, feeling layers and layers of dust on my fingertips. I prayed that there were no cobwebs. "This is gross."

"Can you find anything?" Kazuya called up, his voice strained.

"No, I don't – wait. Wait a sec." My hand brushed against something strange, and I grasped it with difficulty, and pulled it out of the ceiling compartment.

With no warning, a wad of paper fell onto my face, followed by a cloud of dust, making me cough.

Catching the paper before it was scattered all over the room, I called down, "I've got it!"

When I was on more solid ground, I passed the papers to Kazuya, who looked through them diligently.

His eyes widened. "…This is it. This is the missing information about the Yoshimi murders!" He looked up at me, his expression both shocked and excited. "Do you know what this means?"

"Yeah!" I punched my hand into the air triumphantly. "We can progress in the case now!"

"More than that." His face was solemn. "Hideharu was hiding this information. This is illegal, he was obstructing justice. Mai…He must know something about the Yoshimi murders. Something he shouldn't."

There was a voice downstairs.

"Yasuhara? Are you here?"

We froze.

The Matusyama's had returned.

Grabbing his arm, I dragged him out of the bedroom, and we ran into Yasuhara's bedroom. I tried to close the door as quietly as I could.

"Wh-what do we do?" Kazuya breathed, the papers still in his hand.

I shook my head, too panicked for words. When I glanced outside the window, I saw that the car had returned.

"…Yasuhara? Yasuhara, are you home?" The voice belonged to Hideharu's, and it was coming slowly up the stairs.

We looked at each other in horror as the voice got closer. "Yasuhara?"

I grabbed the papers and shoved them under Yasuhara's pillow.

"Yasuhara? For God's sake, answer me when I call you!"

The door opened.

Hideharu Matsuyama stood in the doorway. He stared at us, shock on his face. I had no idea where to look or what to say.

The shock rapidly turned to anger. "What the – what the hell are you doing in my house?!"

"U-Um…" My palms were sweaty. "We-We're friends o-of Yasuhara. We-we…uh…" His gaze was so intense and murderous, my words came out as stutters.

"You _what_? Why are you in my house?!"

"They're waiting for me."

With no warning, Yasuhara barged past his father and entered the room. "Hi, Mai. Kazuya." He wore a friendly face, but his voice was subdued with shock. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"Yasuhara? What is the meaning of this?!" His father shouted.

"I called them over. They were just waiting in my room for me."

Hideharu's rage had lessened, but not considerably. "Well, then, why didn't you answer when I called?"

"I was in the toilet." Yasuhara lied shamelessly and nonchalantly.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hideharu deemed Yasuhara's excuse and our presence as acceptable, and walked away. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Th-Thanks Yasuhara." My legs felt weak and shaky, as if I would collapse at any second.

"Why are you in my house?" He asked immediately.

"Look, we can explain." I rubbed my palms on my trousers, trying to get rid of the stickiness from the sweat. Then I cleared my throat, and tried to think what to say.

I came up with nothing.

"…Well?"

Kazuya and I looked at each other.

"We…we saw that the door was open." Kazuya said slowly. "And we were concerned that –"

"We thought that your father was withholding important case information and came looking for it!" I burst out without meaning to.

Yasuhara stared at me in shock. Kazuya glared at me. I grimaced apologetically.

"…Look." Yasuhara put his head in his hands for a moment, shook his head, then straightened up. "There's something more important I need to show you." He grabbed us both by the wrist, and led us out of the room.

* * *

We were outside, having been led to the pier and onto one of the Matsuyama's boats. The graffiti had finally been scrubbed off the hull, and the boat rocked gently in the tide. On the floor of the boat, a net had been hoisted up from the ocean. Inside was a struggling and very disgruntled merperson.

"John!" I knelt down beside him. "Are you ok?!"

He stopped struggling, exhausted. The net had caught him well, and someone had thrown another one over the top for good measure. Now he was utterly and hopelessly tangled up inside.

"Wait a sec, you know?!" Yasuhara demanded. "You know that…he's…"

"Yasuhara, you have to let him go." I called back to him.

"He's a mermaid!" Yasuhara argued. He sounded scared and shocked.

"Merperson." Kazuya interjected. "He prefers it if you say that. It's more gender neutral."

Yasuhara paced up and down the boat, shaking his head. "I don't believe this. I refuse to believe this."

"That's very nice. Now, while you're doing that, would you mind letting me go?" John tried to sit upright, but the net held him fast.

"How did he catch you?" Kazuya asked, kneeling down next to him and trying to examine the mess of knots and tangles he had gotten himself caught up in.

John glared at Yasuhara. "I was feeling anxious, so I went for a swim. Then I realised a boat was going out. I know there's a grounding right now, and I was suspicious, so I followed it. I thought maybe there might have been a bomb inside the hold. While I was swimming alongside it, someone threw a net at me. Then he hauled me up, freaked out, threw _another_ net on me, then ran away."

I frowned at Yasuhara. "That was unnecessary."

"B-But! He's a mermaid!"

"Merperson." The three of us interrupted.

"Whatever! He might be dangerous. You should both stay away from him."

I scoffed. "John is not dangerous, Yasuhara."

"H-How do you even know about this?!" He demanded. "And what were you doing in my house?! Why did you think my father was withholding information?!"

Kazuya and I looked at each other guiltily, but did not reply. Yasuhara, fuming, waited for an answer. John looked between the three of us, confused.

When we failed to answer, Yasuhara seemed to grow even angrier. "How did you even get into my house?! How did you get past the security alarm?!"

"Well, the lock was easy." I began, but the dark look from Yasuhara made me reconsider my words.

"…We cut a cord. To stop a signal being given off to the station." Kazuya explained. I knew he was lying, but then again, I didn't quite understand what it was he'd done.

"Now, the question is, what were you doing on your father's boat, going out against the grounding?"

Yasuhara squirmed under our watchful gaze. He turned away, paced again, then stopped and faced us.

"I was…I was thinking. About my future." He looked out to the sea. "My father wants me to carry on with the business. I want to go to university. We argue about it a lot."

His expression became more troubled. "I know not many people like my father much. I don't even like him much, a lot of the time. But…" He shrugged helplessly. "And then, that murder…"

"Oh! I've got it!" A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Hideo Atsuki was hired to investigate the graffiti incident, right? Maybe the graffitist is the murderer, and that's why Atsuki was killed."

Kazuya considered this. "You have a valid point."

Yasuhara groaned. "No, that's not it!" He shouted. "Don't you get it?!"

I frowned. "…Get what…?"

"I'm the graffiti artist! I'm the vandal! I did it all!"

Silence swallowed the boat.

Yasuhara realised what he'd said, and groaned again. Defeated, he sat down on the edge of the boat.

"…I did it. I was angry with my father." He swallowed. "It was…a rebellion, almost. Against his plans for me. It was Sekauchi and Chiaki who actually came up with the idea. But I never…I never meant it to go that far. I never realised that he would call in a private detective. And now…" He put his head in his hands. "…That man is dead. And it's my fault. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have come here. He wouldn't have been murdered."

Poor Yasuhara. Quietly, I sat down next to him, and patted his shoulder.

"…None of us can predict these things, Yasuhara." I told him. "There was no way you could have known it was going to turn out this way."

He sighed. It looked as if he was torn between fear at having told his secret, or relief at having that burden lifted from his chest.

"…Ok." He stood up, and already, he had regained the confidence, cool exterior he always had. "Now." He looked at John, who struggled weakly under his gaze. "What do we do about him?" I don't think he spoke out of malice, but fear. Then again, fear could be just as bad as malice.

"What're you talking about?" I asked angrily. "Let him go, obviously."

"But…We can't just do that! He's a mythological creature, he's not meant to exist!"

"Hey." John looked hurt. "I'm right here, you know. I can hear you."

"So? What would you do if you didn't let him go?"

"Uh, tell people that mermaids exist."

"They wouldn't believe you, you'd just get laughed at."

"Well, they would when I showed them evidence."

"And what would that be?"

He pointed at John.

I realised the flaw in my argument. "…Well, ok. Even if you did show people your 'evidence', there are still loads of people who would think you were a fraud. All John would have to do is lie and claim you forced him into being part of this 'scam', and then no one would believe you."

My argument made him pause and reconsider.

"…Fine. Fine."

"Good. Now, help us get him free."

Sighing, Yasushara knelt down by John, who had given up on struggling and settled with a reproachful glare.

"I think we'll have to cut it." I spoke up, joining Yasuhara and Kazuya.

"Do we have to?" Yasuhara frowned. "These things cost money."

"You should have thought about that before throwing another net on me." John muttered.

"Why did you even throw the net into the water, anyway?" I asked.

"I was angry, but then I realised that I probably shouldn't ruin my father's work tools, so I brought it back from the water." Yasuhara explained, taking out a knife. "Not that it matters now."

By the time we had managed to cut away the net, I couldn't feel my fingers from the cold wind coming off the sea. Everyone was shivering, especially John, who hadn't been able to move to keep himself warm. Darkness had come over the town, and I was beginning to feel anxious at the thought of walking back home when a murderer was on the loose.

"If I don't get inside soon…" Kazuya muttered under his breath, rubbing his hands together.

Yasuhara, though, seemed unaffected by the cold. Instead, he was staring at John's tail, without fear, for the first time.

"Oh…" He looked at the markings. "So that's why you asked me about the Blue Marlin scale…" Intrigued, he reached out to touch it, but John flicked his tail away, slapping Yasuhara in the face with his fin in the process. It seemed he was still angry at being caught, then being told he wasn't meant to exist, then being threatened with exposure to the masses. I didn't blame him, to be honest.

However, Yasuhara just grinned, rubbing the side of his face. "Ouch. Sorry. I know I was a jerk."

"That's an understatement." John frowned, grabbing the side of the boat and pulling himself up to sit on the side. "You humans really don't like people who are too different, huh?"

Yasuhara put his hand on his heart. "It's our hamartia."

John rolled his eyes, but his face had softened a little. "Just…fearing and hating people because of differences is childish and destructive. Avoid it with all your might, especially if people are telling you to." I was slightly puzzled by this sudden outburst of wisdom. He sounded as if he was talking from experience. Before I could ask, he threw me and Kazuya a thankful smile.

"Thank you." Then he raised his hand in farewell, and slipped into the sea, barely making a splash.

I looked over the edge, but all traces of him had gone. He was a quick swimmer.

"…Man." Yasuhara took off his glasses, wiped them clean, and put them back on again. "What…Did that really just happen?"

"It's a bit of a shock at first." I told him, and gestured to Kazuya. "Ask him. He completely freaked out."

Kazuya glowered at me.

Sighing, Yasuhara leant against the edge of the boat. "…You never answered me. Why did you think my father was withholding information? And about what?"

"…There was a case around fifteen years ago. The murder that Kenshou Imura talked about." Kazuya explained. "We believe that it has a connection to the current case. And your father was the lead investigator in that case."

Yasuhara stiffened. "…Was he withholding information?"

"Yes. But we don't understand why."

Yasuhara took a deep breath, and was silent. Kazuya continued.

"The information we found is hidden under your pillow. It would be a great help if you could get it to us."

Yasuhara exhaled, and then nodded. "…Ok." He complied. "I'll get it to you. I'll try and help you any way I can. But…what exactly was he withholding?"

Kazuya crossed his arms. "…There were more than three murders fifteen years ago. While investigating, the police found the bodies of two people in the ocean. A knife through the heart for one. The other had been poisoned, they thought. But your father hid the autopsy reports, and declared the first as an accident. He didn't even report the second."

My blood ran cold. "There were five murders?"

Yasuhara had paled considerably. "My father covered it up? Why?"

Kazuya furrowed his brow, deep in thought. "I don't know. But I'm sure it has something to do with the present murders."

The wind was cold, and froze us to the marrow.


	13. Chapter 13: The Lighthouse

**(A/N): Sorry about the delay with the update - I didn't mean to go so long without updating! I've just been so busy with work (EPQ is so annoying and I'm only half way through my essay *cries*)**

**Again, I apologise for leaving this so long. Thank you for waiting.**

**I had a lot of fun naming those cats, and I regret absolutely nothing about their names.**

**Personally, I am a cat person (dogs are cute, too). I think Mai would be a dog person, and so would Takigawa and John. I think Lin would definitely be a cat person, and maybe Ayako too. I think Yasuhara could be either, and I'm not so sure about Masako and Kazuya. What do you think?**

**I'm a terrible swimmer. My friends are good (they go rowing a lot, so they have to be, in ca****se they fall in) but I'm not.**

**Merfolk in Norway were actually supposed to have ESP. They just sat around, predicting the future, rather than going out and sinking ships like merfolk are well-known for, and had pretty good relationships with humans (apparently).**

**Thank you very much for reading this story, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The room is dark.

Light is attempting to stream through the windows, but has been blocked by a heavy curtain, soaking up the warmth and stealing away visibility. The fabric, once splendid and intricate, has been stained with various substances, and mould is slowly growing from the bottom, working its way up like ivy, its coating as thin yet prominent as frost.

At my feet, many bottles of alcohol litter the floor. Some look old, and some look as if they have only been drained recently. The smell is sickening.

An unmade bed, with sheets that look as if they haven't been washed in years, is at the centre of the room. A person is sitting on the bed. They do not wear a shirt, and I can see now that they are a man. Their torso is covered in long scars – most are random and savage, while there is a single, almost deliberate line down the man's front. It reminds me of a cut made by a coroner on a corpse.

What stands out the most, though, is the mermaid tattoo on his arm. From where I stand, I can see it clearly. Her face is detailed, and very beautiful as she combs her long red hair. Her eyes are a startling green. The scales of her tail are a bright blue. I feel like I have seen her before.

The man is taking something out of a bag. An orange pot. His hands shaking, he pours tablets into his palm. He looks as if he is in a lot of pain.

Fumbling for a glass of water from his bedside table, he swallows them, gulping the water down with it. When he places the glass back down, he knocks something over with it. With panic, he swears, and crouches on the ground, barely wincing from his previous pain. He picks it up, gentle and careful, examining it with scrutiny, desperate to check that he hasn't broken it. When satisfied it hasn't been damaged, he places it back on the bedside table with tenderness.

He moves away, limping slightly, walking to the window and drawing the curtain back slightly. Distractedly, he looks out through the glass.

While he does that, I move over to the bedside window. The item that the person knocked off is a photo frame. It is made out of wood, polished until it shines, and the glass is cleaner than the rest of the room. Inside, there is a photo. A woman with red hair and bright green eyes smiles at me.

* * *

I woke up with a start.

The woman from the cave…with red hair…

The murderer with the mermaid tattoo had a picture of her. The picture of the woman was the same as his tattoo.

But more than that…the woman. The picture. Had I seen her before?

The tattoo…the woman's spirit in the cave…the picture the murderer had…

They were all the same woman.

But who was she? And there was one more place I had seen her before.

But where?

Scrambling down the stairs, and hitting my head in the process, I ran into the kitchen, trying to brush my hair as I did so.

"I've got to go!" I called out to my brother, who was eating his breakfast still.

"Huh?" He scratched his head. "Why are you up so early? I thought your paper round wasn't for another hour."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just getting it done early today." I put on my shoes, grabbed my bag, and ran out the house. Then I stopped, turned around, and hurried back in.

"Don't forget your badge!" I called in, then ran back out again.

I needed to tell Kazuya about my dream. I had no idea who that woman was, but she was vital to the case – and more importantly, to the murderer. Enough to have a tattoo of her painted on his arm. Enough to murder when she told him to.

Unfortunately, there was no way I could text him; his phone was still being held as evidence. I would have to try and catch him before he went to work.

I completed my paper round as quickly as I could – I was getting faster and faster at them, considering the amount of times I'd had to pedal around the town when I was in a rush to talk about case information with Kazuya.

When I pulled up outside the police station to find him, I faltered. The blood was still there, all over the ground outside the building. No one had removed the police tape yet. The entrance was blocked, and I realised that, today, they would not be letting just anyone in. I did not stick around for long - the sight of the blood was making me feel sick.

In the end, I decided to try and meet Kazuya at SPR. However, by the time I arrived, I could see no sign of him at the restaurant.

"If you're looking for the moody British lad, he's out." Ayako called to me while she washed a table. There were shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep, and I felt a pang of sympathy for her. Not only were the murders ruining her business, but the entire situation was very unnerving; the likelihood was, someone she knew and had known for a while was the murderer.

"Oh." Disappointment – and more importantly, worry – swirled inside me. "I guess I'll just have to find him later."

"I'm afraid it might be hard to get a hold of him." Ayako warned me. "I hear that the chief of the local police branch has called for some assistance in the case, but until then, everyone working in the force is going to be very overworked. Including him and your brother."

Sighing, I sat down at a table. It looked like I had come all this way for nothing. "…Want some help?"

"No, I'm fine." Concerned, she looked around at the restaurant. It was a lot sparser than it normally was. "We're not exactly overcrowded today."

Chewing my thumb nail, I thought back to the blood on the ground near the police station. It made me shudder, and I tried to think of something else.

"Oh yeah, Ayako…How long have you been living here?"

She raised her eye brow. "That's a rather personal question."

"O-Oh, sorry! I didn't mean…it's just that, I learnt about something that…someone who lived here fifteen years ago. And I was wondering if you maybe knew them."

"Fifteen years ago…well, I've lived here all my life, but I was only a child back then." Ayako told me. "Who was it?"

I hesitated. "…Well, that's the thing. I don't actually know their name. That's why I was asking."

Thoughtfully, Ayako put down her cloth. "Describe them to me. I might know."

"U-Uh, well…it's a woman. Maybe…maybe your age, or a bit older. Well, she was. But she's dead now. And…she had red hair, and green eyes. She was very pretty."

Ayako leant back on the table, considering this. "…I can't say I know someone like that."

"Sorry. I know my description wasn't brilliant."

She waved her hand dismissively, deep in thought. "But…you know, I remember a while back, when I was a child…I might have seen someone like that. A woman with red hair and green eyes. With…" Her brow furrowed as she thought hard. "…Who was it again…I remember, I was at the beach, and they were walking along it. And she gave me a shell."

I listened, intrigued, as she continued. "It was a pretty thing. Small, but filled with colours. I didn't think you found such colourful shells around here. I still have it today." She sighed. "…I wonder where that woman went. I didn't see her again afterwards. I don't actually know her name, either."

"Oh…that's a shame…"

"Well, these things happen. I was only seven at the time. It's a hazy memory." She got up to continue her work, then stopped.

"Oh! Yes, I remember." She nodded to herself, then looked at me. "The person I saw her with was Lin."

* * *

Anxiously, I paced up and down outside of SPR. What should I do? I did not like the sound of this. Maybe I was just working myself up over nothing. My description was so vague, Ayako could have been talking about another person, but…

Something told me that she wasn't. What did Lin have to do with this woman? Who _was_ this woman?

Now that I thought about it…

_.On the table, there was a framed photo. It looked a little out of place in the room, which was so bare and void of any decoration. Curiously, I walked over to it._

"_What's this?" I picked it up, looking at the image. It was a little old and worn, but the frame was pristine and clean. A woman smiled at me from behind the glass. Vaguely, I wondered if I had seen her before, and who it was. Was it Lin's girlfriend? They didn't look similar enough to be related_

Was it the same woman? If I could just see that picture again, I would be able to tell if it was. But I couldn't exactly go waltzing in, could I? And if it really _was_ the same woman…if Lin had a picture of the woman from the cave in his house…

I paced faster, and the seagulls were caught in a game of flying away when I came to close, and landing back on the pavement as soon as I had walked away. Irritated, they screeched at me raucously, and eventually gave up on their retreat-and-return technique, instead remaining stubbornly on the pavement whenever I walked by. Who could I tell about this new development? From the sounds of it, Kazuya was going to be in work for a long time.

"Mai? Are you alright?"

I turned to see John walking out of the restaurant. An idea sparked in my head.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about something. How are you today?"

He rubbed his shoulder. "Ok. Filled with cramps, but ok." I assumed he was referring to his time being caught in a net yesterday.

"Did you tell Lin? That Yasuhara knows?"

"Yeah. He wasn't very happy about it. He kept on going on about…" He tilted his head as he thought of the exact words. "… The bloody Matsuyama's and their bloody boats going out against the bloody quota with their bloody nets'…I think?"

In all honesty, I was surprised that there hadn't been more swearwords involved in that sentence.

"Is…Is Lin at home right now? In his lighthouse?" I asked cautiously, trying to keep my comments vague.

"No, not right now. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" I looked down at my feet as I thought of what to say. "…There's…There's something at his house that I need to see."

Again, John tilted his head, confusion evident on his face.

"It's important. I'd really appreciate it if you could get me over there."

"What is it that you need to see?"

"A photo that he owns."

He waited for more of an explanation, but I didn't give one.

"Why do you need to see this photo?"

"…It's complicated. But it's important…" I considered my options for a moment. I could tell him about how I needed the photo to aid in the investigation of the case, or I could stay silent. But the more help we could get…

"…John, I'm helping Kazuya with his investigation of the recent murders." When I said the words, his eyes widened in surprise. "We think they're connected to a serial killing that happened fifteen years ago. The Yoshimi murders. And I think Lin might have something that could help us."

"Why are you helping investigate murder?" He asked. "Is it because you have ESP?"

"Yeah, that's mainly…wait a minute, how do you know that?!"

He shrugged. "Well, you mentioned it briefly at the lighthouse. You said it was why you thought I was a merperson, and it made more sense that you followed me based on your ESP instincts than on a random hunch."

"…You took that surprisingly well."

"Well, it's not the first time I've met people with ESP. Loads of the merfolk in Norway have ESP. They can see the future with it. They're always a bit…melancholy, though, because of it."

"O-Oh." I was only mildly surprised now. "…Well…will you help me?"

Conflicted, John bit his lip, looking out to the sea. I could tell he was debating what to do. Finally, he looked back at me.

"…Ok. I'll try and help you."

Unfortunately, a problem quickly arose to us – how would we actually get to the lighthouse?

"Um…do you know how to drive a boat?" I asked as we stood at the pier.

"No…"

"How do you get over there normally?"

"Well, sometimes I just go over with Lin on his boat."

I frowned. "What about the grounding?"

"Oh, he doesn't really listen to that. For some reason, when it comes to him, the police officers don't bother to reinforce it."

That was probably because they were too scared of him. "What else?"

"I just swim there. Normally if he's already over there."

I looked at him, an idea already forming in my head. When he realised what I wanted to do, he sighed.

"Mai, no. We are not swimming over there."

"Why not?"

"The water is surprisingly cold, and the tide is quite rough today. I'd be fine, but you might drown."

"Oh, come on! We need to get over there! Besides, what makes you think I'd drown? And _you_ wouldn't?"

"I can breathe underwater…"

"Oh yeah." Determined to convince him, I walked to the end of the pier. "Oh, well…if you won't help me, I'll just have to jump in and swim there myself…"

* * *

About half way there, I realised that John was right; the water was extremely cold that day, and the waves were rough. Though I had taken off my shoes and my jacket, the weight of my clothes still weighed me down and made swimming even more difficult. I wasn't a bad swimmer - I was quite good, actually, but the water today was not ideal for swimming in. It was a good thing I had taken a life-saving course a few years ago and had the stamina to keep up.

There was a splash, and John surfaced again, looking at me with concern. His tail allowed him to cut through the water cleanly and smoothly, barely making a sound, while I splashed and floundered ungracefully.

"Are you ok?" He asked, seemingly unaffected by the cold water.

"Y-Yeah." Determined to carry on, I plunged ahead with as much energy as I could muster, praying that we would reach the lighthouse soon.

"Are you sure?"

"Yup." I spat out some salt water that had been forced into my mouth. "Never better." The worse thought was, I was going to have to do it all again when we left. I had no idea how I'd have the energy to do it.

John dove again, having told me earlier on that he felt uncomfortable swimming on the surface in broad daylight. His tail barely showed on the surface before he had disappeared into the dark water. There weren't many people out today, though, save for a single bird watcher on the beach. Still, I understood why he was nervous to be out in the daytime. After his tangle with Yasuhara's net – quite literally – he was certainly in no hurry to be spotted again.

When we finally got there, I was just about ready to collapse. John had gotten so concerned about my well-being, he had dragged me the rest of the way there. I had to admit, it was certainly easier and faster that way, but my pride meant I didn't say that.

"Ok." He pushed himself onto the platform while I ringed out my clothes as much as possible. "The key is under the mat. Whatever you do, don't let the cats out. And try not to touch or move too much. He'll notice that someone's been here otherwise. When you're ready, I'll swim back with you. Don't try and leave without me, though. I don't want you to drown."

I didn't argue, this time. If I was to swim all the way back without drowning, I was going to need his help.

"What will you do?" I asked, as I searched the mat for the key. It was quite out of place on a lighthouse. On it, the word 'Welcome!' was stated. It did not seem like the sort of thing Lin would buy. I wondered if John had bought it. Lifting it up, my eye fell on a small and rusty scrap of metal.

"I'll just stick around, beneath the surface." John decided, watching me. "Be careful with it. It's a little rusty, and if it breaks, we're in trouble."

'A little rusty' was an understatement. The key felt as if it would snap in my hands. It was with great care that I pushed it into the lock and twisted the handle. Somehow, it remained intact as the lock clicked and I pushed the door open.

"I'll see you." I called over to John, who nodded and slipped into the water again. When he was gone, I turned back to the door nervously, and stepped inside.

The lighthouse was unnervingly quiet. I couldn't even hear the sound of the sea from behind the walls and the closed door. It was dark, with only a few shafts of sunlight edging in through the small, circular windows to light up the stairs. Despite John's statement that Lin was not here, I could not shake the irrational fear that he suddenly appear.

As I walked shakily up the stairs, holding onto the banister carefully, I felt a pang of guilt. Here I was, breaking and entering, trespassing on Lin's property and invading his privacy based on a hunch. Even worse, I had forced John to help me with it. Lin was his friend, and they both trusted each other. Was I destroying this trust? What would Lin think if he found out that I had persuaded John to help me do this?

There was no time to think about that now. I had to find that picture.

Hastily, I dashed up the last stretch of stairs, panting heavily as I reached the top. The main room was empty, apart from two of his cats who were sleeping on the computers, not caring for the screens or dials, instead more interested in basking in the sun.

"Oh!" I walked over to them, and they looked up at me. I loved cats. To be honest, I was more of a dog person, but I loved cats, too.

"Hello! Aren't you cute?" I stroked them, feeling the heat from the sun on their fur. The largest – a grey cat with bushy fur – gave me a single glance before falling back asleep. The name 'Ghost' was written on a collar. The smallest cat, a tortoise shell with a sleek coat, jumped down and rubbed itself around my legs, purring loudly. Crouching down, I read its tag: 'Hunter'.

"Where's your friend?" I wondered aloud. I was sure Lin had three cats.

There was a gentle thud behind me, and I turned to see the final cat standing on the table, having knocked over a few items when it jumped up. It was a very ugly cat, with no fur, a bony face and wrinkled skin. Cautiously, I checked it's collar.

"…Urado?" I read it out. "What kind of a name is that?"

In response, it hissed at me, and sat down.

Frowning, I stared at the table. "Wait…where's the picture?" I couldn't see it anywhere. There were a lot of papers on the table, an empty beer bottle, a tea towel, and a dirty plate. But no photo frame.

Again, the cat hissed, and fixed an angry stare at me. Glaring back at it, I walked around the table slowly, trying to change my view point.

"There it is." The cat, Urado, was sitting on it. Stupid cat.

Coming up from behind it, I carefully reached out my hands, and grasped the edge of the frame. Then I tugged it slightly, trying to pull it out from underneath the cat.

In a split second, Urado twisted around, hissing and spitting, and sank its teeth into my hand.

"Ow!" Quickly, I drew it back, checking the wound. The stupid thing had drawn blood.

Baring my teeth, I slowly reached out my hand again. The cat watched me, its gaze unwavering, and I hesitated.

Pursing my lips, I grabbed the tea towel and wrapped securely around my hand, before I reached out again. This time, when the cat tried to bite me, the fangs didn't reach my skin.

"Yes!" Triumphantly, I dragged the photo frame out from underneath it. The cat jumped away, hissing. "Stupid cat! I got it!"

Throwing the tea towel back on the table, I quickly examined the photo.

A woman with red hair and green eyes stared at me, a grin on her face. Somehow, her skin had much more colour in it than when I had seen her at the cave, and her eyes didn't have the same vacant, and angry, glaze to it. Yet they were undeniably the same person.

So Lin knew the woman from the cave. He had been walking the beach with her fifteen years ago, before she died, when Ayako was a child. And he had a picture of her. They must have been close in some way. But…did this mean…

…Was Lin the murderer with the mermaid tattoo?

Was the spirit of the woman in the cave asking him to commit those murders?

Frantically, I placed down the photo, and dashed around the room. Maybe there would be some sort of evidence to prove if he was. Maybe there'd be something that linked him with the murder…

Hastily, I began looking through the papers on the table. Was there anything –

Wait a minute. There was a picture of Yasuhara's father on one of the papers. It was an old picture, and although many of his wrinkles were gone, Hideharu Matsuyama still had the same disagreeable expression he always did. He was wearing a uniform with the words 'garda' printed on his chest.

So this was a picture of when Matsuyama was still a police officer. But why did Lin have a photo of him?

I continued looking through the papers. There was another picture, this time of an older man who I didn't recognise. On the other side, the words 'Kazayasu Yoshimi' had been written. Then, 'deceased'.

What? Why did Lin have a picture of one of the victims of the Yoshimi murders? As I looked more, I found pictures for two more Yoshimi family members – both described as 'deceased'. What was going on here?

As my search went on, I became increasingly worried. It wasn't just the victims from the Yoshimi murders that Lin had photos of. A profile picture of Noriko was present, too. As was one of Hideo Atsuki. Several fishermen were also there, who I assumed were victims of the sinking.

Dread was building in my stomach. Why did Lin have all these photos?

Was he…Was he really…

Shaking my head, I put down the papers, and dashed out the room, racing down the stairs. This was really bad. If there was any chance that Lin was the murderer, I needed to get out of here, and quickly.

"John!" I called as I reached the bottom of the stairs, wrenching open the door. "We've got to –"

"You've got to do what?"

I froze. Lin was standing on the lighthouse platform. His boat was tied up, gently rocking in the waves. He was watching me, his face clouded with anger.

"U-Uh…" I swallowed, taking a step back from him. Crap. _Crap_. No words formed in my mouth, and I found myself unable to speak. He watched me expectantly. Fear rose rapidly within me. Was he going to murder me now?

Suddenly, John surfaced. "Oh, hey Lin. You're back early."

Lin turned to him, still furious. "What are you – why are you swimming in broad daylight? And why is _she_ here?"

"Oh, I asked her to fetch something for me that I left there last night." He explained calmly, taking in the situation quickly. "I need it for work, and you weren't there, so I asked if she would go in and get it for me. Did you find it?"

"U-Uh…no. No, sorry."

"Oh, that's a shame. Sorry to drag you all the way here for nothing. I would go in myself, but…" He gestured to his tail. "There isn't a towel around, and this isn't very good for walking with.

"Oh, it's fine!" I laughed nervously. "No problem!"

Pushing himself onto the platform, John noticed my bleeding hand. "Oh, your hand is bleeding. What happened?"

"T-The cat." I knew he was trying to create friendly conversation to try and gloss over my nervousness and make the lie believable, but I was struggling to keep up the façade. "Um…the one called Urado. It bit me."

"Oh, yeah. He's not very friendly, and his bites hurt. You should probably get that checked up."

"It's not deep. I think it will be fine." I risked a glance at Lin. He was still watching me, and his thunderous expression hadn't changed.

"Well, we'd better go back. Lin, could you give Mai a lift back?" John asked cheerily.

Lin did not drag his gaze away from me, and I avoided it, instead choosing to stare out at the sea. Finally, he spoke up.

"…Ok. What about you?"

"I left my clothes near the rock pools. I'll meet you back by the pier." He gave me an encouraging smile before slipping back into the water. His departure filled me with fear at the thought of having to ride back alone with Lin.

Lin, who might be the murderer.

* * *

The ride back was torturously slow, and completely silent. Lin did not say a word, and I did not attempt to start any conversation. I was scared out of my wits. If Lin was the murderer, that would mean he had a tattoo. However, I hadn't seen one on him – although this didn't count for much, since I had never seen him wearing anything but a jumper, even in summer. And the house that the murderer was always in when I had a vision, it didn't look anything like Lin's lighthouse. But…surely Lin didn't live in his lighthouse all the time. Maybe he had a house back on land, where he went during the day, when he wasn't working. If that was the case, then maybe he really did make all those boats sink. He had lived here for a while, and he knew when the quota was, and when the boats all went out. Maybe he attacked Noriko, too. He was probably good with a knife. And maybe he killed Hideo Atsuki in front of the police station, and stole Kazuya's mobile…and knew that we had found out about the ghost…

When we arrived back at the port, I bolted off the boat, murmuring a quick thank you, to which he grunted, before running away from the lighthouse keeper as fast as I could. I didn't know where John was, but I needed to get away from that man as fast as possible.

I eventually found John walking up from the beach. He was sitting on a rock, fully clothed and putting on his shoes.

"John!" I called over, running towards him. I needed to warn him to stay away from Lin. Maybe he wasn't the murderer, but I couldn't take that risk.

"Oh, hey Mai." He smiled, and offered me his towel. "You're still really wet from the sea."

"I-I'm fine. But, look. You have to stay away from Lin."

"What?" He stood up, and we began to walk back up to the promenade. "What do you mean?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know how to say this…Look, I'm really thankful that you helped me back there. And I'm sorry I made you lie, too. But…I found what I was looking for. And what I needed to know about…it turned out I was right."

"What do you mean?" John stopped, and turned to me, his head tilted in puzzlement. "I don't understand."

I exhaled. "…John…do you know if Lin has any tattoos?"

"Um…no, I haven't seen any."

"Are you sure? None on his arm, say?" I gestured to my lower right arm. "None here?"

"I don't know. He always wears jumpers. It gets really cold in that lighthouse, even in summer." Well, wasn't that convenient. "What are you saying, Mai?"

"I…I think that Lin –"

"Mai! John!" Frowning, I turned to the call of our names. Ayako was running towards us. She looked upset.

"Ayako? Is everything alright?" I asked. However, she didn't answer, but hugged me tightly instead.

"Where have you been? Your brother has been –" She stepped back. "How come you're so soaked? Have you been swimming in the sea?"

"Y-Yeah. Ayako, what's wrong?"

"We've been looking for you. And you as well, John. Where have you both been?!"

"I was at the beach." John lied. "Has something happened? Where is everyone?"

Ayako went very pale suddenly. "…Listen. Whatever you do, don't go to Madoka's shop. Promise me that."

"What?" I was getting a very bad feeling about this. "What are you –"

"You don't want to see. Trust me."

"…Ayako. What's happened?" I asked slowly. Surely…not again. Not already.

Ayako took a breath. "…You remember the lawyers who came here, don't you? The lawyers that Mr Matsuyama hired."

"Yes. What about them?"

"The younger one, Naoko Suzuki…she's dead."

My mouth went dry. "D-Dead?"

"She was murdered."


	14. Chapter 14: An Garda Síochána

**(A/N): I've had enough of science exams right now ugh.**

**Tomorrow I have a biology exam which is really annoying and I've been able to do almost no writing this weekend, but there's no getting round these things.**

**I'm actually really enjoying this story, more so than I thought I would. It's fun to write something with that balance of being serious and being light-hearted (from my point of view anyway). My stories about John are a lot more serious, so when it comes to writing this, it's good to have fun with it. Plus I've finally managed to write a story with a MERPERSON in it so yeah win-win for me.**

**(I like merpeople too much.)**

**Kei Ubusuna is the teacher in the After-School Hexer arc, who actually turns out to be the hexer. Reimei Minami is in the Bloodstained Labyrinth arc, and is the leader of Minami psychic research. Miwa Fukuda is also in the Bloodstained Labyrinth arc, and she too works for Minami psychic research. However, she only appears in the manga, not the anime. Father Toujou is a priest in the Silent Christmas arc.**

**The name of the police in the Republic of Ireland (like on the uniform and things) is the Garda (I'm not sure what it is in Northern Ireland). The official name is '****An Garda Síochána'. No one actually calls it that though, I don't think. (It's Irish/Gaeilge)**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for reading!**

* * *

Naoko Suzuki was killed outside of Madoka's shop. Despite the fact it had been in the middle of town, during the day, someone had approached her and strangled her. No one was there to help her.

Only one person had witnessed the crime. Kenji, who had been serving at the shop while Madoka was out, heard the sounds of struggling outside the shop. When he walked out, he saw the last moments of the murder, and could only watch as the perpetrator fled. The event had left him traumatised, but he was lucky not to have been killed.

This was the story circulating SPR, and once again, it was Madoka who had told it. She was quite furious.

"This has gone too far now." She was declaring to her hoard of followers at the restaurant. "What if Kenji had been killed? This has gone far enough."

Everyone was listening very carefully. Even Ayako stopped to listen. Masako, John and I did too. However, I couldn't help but notice that Lin wasn't there. Neither was Kazuya, for that matter.

"The police need to do something about this. How many murders have there been? First all the sinking boats, then that private detective. Now the lawyer. And don't forget, Noriko was attacked too! This is outrageous! We deserve better protection than this!"

All the listeners murmured in agreement. "Poor Kenji is completely traumatised. And who blames him? But this cannot go on. Something needs to be done about this. We can't rely on the police any more."

* * *

"She said that, huh?"

Back at home, I recounted to Houshou about what I had heard at SPR.

"Yeah. Everyone's angry. What is the police going to do?"

He sighed, scratching his head. He looked tired. "The chief has decided that we can't do enough by ourselves. Police officers from Dublin are being called in."

"Dublin? That's where you used to work." I remembered. "Before we moved here. Will you see anyone you know?"

He looked troubled. "I don't know…"

I smiled, and patted his shoulder. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"I hope so…" He didn't look particularly optimistic.

"Well, how is the case going?"

"Not good. Our witness – Kenji Nagano – is in shock. We've tried to talk to him, but he won't respond to us in anyway. He won't even sign to us. We're bringing in a psychiatrist to help us, but I'm not sure if it will work. And now, Madoka's going to be on our back." He sighed again. "She's going to write an article to criticise us again, isn't she?"

Probably. "Well, you never know…she might not."

Houshou scoffed. "Great. That is the last thing we need."

"Well…do you…do you have any…you know…"

He frowned. "What?"

"…Suspects?"

"I can't tell you that. You know I can't."

I bit my lip, thinking back to what I had found out in the lighthouse. "Well…what if…what if someone were to, I don't know…have a hunch or something? About who the murderer might be."

"Well, we don't want to start any lynches or anything…" Houshou muttered. "Hunches and rumours can be very dangerous in close communities like this. They can escalate very quickly. We have to be careful not to confirm or comment on any 'hunches'. Anyway, why do you ask?"

"U-Um, no reason!"

He looked at me suspiciously. "Mai, are you trying to tell me something?"

"No, no! I was just wondering! Out of curiosity!" In reality, I had no idea how I was going to bring up my suspicions. I couldn't bring up anything about the ghost, but I couldn't deny the fact that Lin had pictures of the recent victims, either. He even had pictures going back to the Yoshimi murders. If he wasn't the murderer, he was at the very least related to the incidents in some way. Before I could voice any suspicions to Houshou or the police, I needed to confirm them first. If I had it wrong and told the police anyway, it could be disastrous. I hadn't stayed in this town for very long, but my brother was right. This community was a close-knitted town. It would be easy for rumours to escalate, and for people to conspire. If that happened, it wouldn't be good.

The next morning, I took a slow walk down to Madoka's shop. Since the murder had occurred right outside her shop, I had no idea if it was going to be open. I had tried to ring her several times, but she hadn't picked up. And then there was Kenji…was he going to be alright? According to Madoka, it had been an earlier emotionally traumatic event that had sealed his ability to speak, so who knew what awful effect this murder would have on him?

When I arrived, it became clear very quickly that I would not be able to go in. The entire front entrance had been taped off by the police. I could not see Madoka anywhere, and after a while, the cold weather drove me to find somewhere warmer to stand. A cold breeze was coming in off the ocean, though knowing the temperamental Irish weather patterns, it wouldn't be long until the sun came up and warmed the still, frozen town.

In the end, I went to SPR. Again, it was pretty empty today. Ayako wasn't even working; she was just sitting down, leafing miserably through bills.

Tentatively, I approached her. "H-Hi."

She glanced up, barely noticing me. "Hi, Mai. Is everything alright?"

I nodded, and sat down at the table next to her. "…How are things?"

Sighing, she placed down the bills in defeat. "The bills are just the same as they normally are." She began to tell me, somewhat absent-mindedly. "But with things going as they are, it's going to be tough to pay it off."

"Oh." Poor Ayako. "By the way, thanks for giving me that information yesterday."

"Hm?" It finally seemed to register to her who I was, and that I was there. "Oh. Right. No problem."

"By the way…you wouldn't happen to know where Madoka is, do you?"

Again, Ayako sighed, and crossed her arms. "I think she's down at the police station with Kenji, talking with a psychiatrist to try and help with the questioning. Poor kid. You know, Madoka took Kenji in a long time ago. He's practically her son. This whole business has been really upsetting for them both. And Madoka's really angry about it. I mean, if that newspaper article is any indication –"

"Newspaper article?"

She picked up something from the chair next to her, and passed it to me. "Here, read it. Second page. You know 'Sea, Sand and Sun' is the description that the tourist company that operates here uses, right?"

Fervently, I scoured the pages that Madoka had written. The article was entitled 'Sea, Sand and Murder'.

"…What is this?!" I angrily stared at the words. "Why is she slagging off the police department so much?!" This article was more scathing than any of the others she had written before.

"She's calling for the government to take more action, and to send in the national police force." I put the paper down. "Do you think they will?"

"I'd say it's a very likely possibility." Ayako told me. "The local force really can't deal with this on their own."

"B-But, what if they send over –" I stopped, realising I shouldn't say any more.

"Hm? Is something wrong with the national police force coming in?"

"H-Huh? Uh, no, no. It's nothing. I was just…No." There was no way I could tell Ayako. But…if they were bringing in new officers from Dublin, there was a chance that Houshou's old colleagues would be there. And that was a very bad thing.

In the end, I decided to hurry to the police station. How would my brother react if his old colleagues were here? There was nothing we could do to stop this, but at the very least, I wanted to make sure he knew about it before they arrived, and talk to him about it.

When I arrived, I didn't bother waiting at the reception. This was too important. Instead, I went straight to his office, and knocked impatiently outside the door.

When there was no reply, I knocked continuously and persistently, until the door finally swung open.

"What are – Mai?" The person who spoke was Kazuya, looking surprised at my appearance.

"Kazuya, is my brother in?" I asked immediately.

He looked behind him briefly, then leant in closer, his voice low. The close proximity would have made me unreasonably happy if it weren't for the urgency of the situation.

"We're trying to talk to Kenji." He told me quietly. "We brought in a psychiatrist – Dr Toujou – to try and make him feel more comfortable. We're finally getting somewhere."

The news was a relief, but a hasty one. "Look, Kazuya, you need to tell my brother that…I'm not sure if he knows this already, but, police from Dublin are being brought in to help with the case."

Surprisingly, Kazuya's face darkened. It was not a reaction I had been expecting.

"…Really, now?"

"U-Um…yeah. I just wanted him to be prepared…in case he meets some old colleagues of his."

Kazuya furrowed his brow as he considered what I had just said. "…He used to work in Dublin, then?"

"Y-Yes."

"…May I ask…Why did he leave? Why did he come here?"

I bit my lip, and stared at the floor. "…I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I can't say."

Kazuya nodded slowly. "…I understand."

Thinking back to his strange reaction to the news, I asked cautiously, "…Do you have a connection with the Dublin Police Force?" When I had revealed the information, he certainly didn't look happy. He looked angry. Worried, even.

Kazuya didn't reply for a moment. He turned, as if he was going to walk back into the room, then hesitated.

"…Yes. I worked with them briefly." With that, he went back into the room, not saying another word on the matter.

* * *

After a lot of internal debate, I decided to stick around the police station a little longer. I really wanted to see Houshou in person, regardless of how long it was going to take. There was no way I was going to tell Kazuya about why we moved here in the first place, though he seemed to have his own concerns about the Dublin Police Force coming here. Did he have some kind of bad experience with them, too?

Eventually, three people entered the waiting room from Houshou's office. Madoka walked in front, her expression still one of vengeful anger, but with a frequent and much more gentle glance down at the person she walked with. Kenji walked beside her, and I had never seen him looking so miserable or vulnerable. He stared down at the floor, and his face was completely dejected. More than that, there was an unmistakeable fear in his eyes, and his arms were wrapped around himself tightly. Suddenly, I felt a wave of anger, and understood perfectly how Madoka felt.

The third person who walked with them, I did not recognise. He was an older man, though probably not as old as the crafts shop owner, Kenshou Imura. His attire and demeanour was a professional and smart one, but there was still a kindness about his face and eyes that was very grandfatherly in nature – both wise and caring.

"Oh, Madoka." I called to her, and she paused. Automatically, Kenji stopped, and the man who was with them paused, too.

"Hey, Mai." Her voice lacked the cheer it normally had.

I looked at Kenji, but he was still staring at the floor. I had no idea how to interact with him, or if he'd even speak to me, so I turned my attention to Madoka instead.

"Um, I heard that the Dublin Police Force are being brought in the aid in the case. Do you know when they're going to arrive?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Soon, though."

"What do you think made them come?" I tried not to sound accusatory.

However, Madoka did not fall for the bait. She just shook her head.

"Who knows? Probably the scale of the murders that have been committed here, and the fact that the police department is so small here. They can't do it by themselves." Whatever she said, I knew that she thought it was because the police department was so ineffective here – that's what she had outlined several times in her articles.

"Oh." I did not say anything else about the matter, trying to hide my irritation. "How is Kenji?"

Immediately, Madoka's face softened. She looked down at him. "…He's still struggling to communicate about it. I think he's still very…shaken up by the event."

Behind us, the man who I did not know stepped forwards, and spoke up. "He's doing better. But it's still very difficult for him to talk about it. He's managed to get across some information to the police, but it's probably best if he recuperates. He'll need some time away from here."

"Oh, I see...that probably sounds like the best thing. Um…I'm sorry…I don't think I know you…"

"Ah." He smiled, and held out his hand, which I shook. "I'm Doctor Toujou. Psychiatrist. What's your name?"

"I'm Mai Taniyama. Actually, my brother is a police officer here."

"Oh, is he?"

"Houshou Takigawa. Well, we're half-siblings, actually. Anyway," I glanced at Kenji, who had shown no acknowledgement to the conversation, "do you think he'll be ok?"

"Yes. It may take some time, but he will recover."

I felt immensely relieved. "That's brilliant. I'm so glad."

"Shall we go?" Madoka looked down at Kenji. For a moment, he did not respond, but eventually, he managed a small nod.

"Ok. I'll see you later, Mai." The three of them left, and I was left waiting anxiously and alone in the waiting room again.

I was not left waiting long. Five minutes after Madoka had left with Kenji and Doctor Toujou, three more people entered the waiting room. However, they did not sit and wait.

"Excuse me." One of them addressed me, an authoritative woman wearing a uniform with the words 'GARDA' written on it. The others were wearing the same uniform – it was the one that Kazuya and Houshou wore, too. With a jolt of worry, I realised that these people were the officers from Dublin.

"Where is the receptionist?" The woman asked.

"…Not…not here. She…she was involved in an accident." I swallowed, looking down at the ground.

The woman tutted disapprovingly, and wrote something down in a notebook. Somehow, the action was a familiar one, and her name came flashing into my mind – this woman was called Kei Ubusana. She had been my brother's boss when we still lived in Dublin. Biting my lip, I looked at the other two officers: a man and a woman. The woman had a permanent scowl on her face, and looked around the room contemptuously. Meanwhile, the man stood with his hands in his pocket and an irritating smirk. Again, I recognised these two. They were Houshou's old colleagues. This was bad.

"W-W-Who are you looking for?" I asked nervously.

"The superintendent of this branch." She tucked away her notebook. "Where is his office?"

Avoiding their stares, I pointed down one of the corridors. Without another word, they walked away, heading towards the office I had pointed out to them.

As soon as they were gone, I ran to Houshou's office, and burst into the room, not bothering to knock.

"Houshou! They've arrived!" I shut the door behind me tightly, and turned to face him. "Your colleagues from Dublin!"

Kazuya and Houshou were standing by the desk. They had been conversing quietly. Houshou passed a hand over his face, which was much paler than it normally was. Kazuya had his arms crossed, his brow furrowed in thought.

"…Are you sure?" Houshou asked eventually, his voice quiet. "That they're my colleagues?"

I nodded. "Kei Ubusuna is here. And so are those two other officers you worked with…what were their names…"

Suddenly, Kazuya spoke up. "Reimei Minami and Miwa Fukuda?"

I frowned. "Y-Yeah…How did you know?"

He did not reply. Instead, he turned away, looking troubled.

"…Kazuya? Are you ok?"

He did not look at me. "I'm fine."

I put my hand on his shoulder. He still didn't move. "Kazuya…do you know them, too?"

The door opened suddenly. We all turned to look as two of the officers walked in – Minami and Fukuda. They both looked around the office, meticulously and judgementally. The three of us did not dare say a word.

"…Well." Minami spoke up, his voice so snide and enraging it made me fight the urge to punch him. "So this is where you moved, Takigawa."

"What a dump." Fukuda spoke up bluntly. "How disappointing."

Beside me, I felt Houshou tense entirely. He was probably fighting off his anger.

Minami sauntered forwards, looking us up and down. He paused suddenly.

"…Oh!" He smiled, and it was one filled with mocking. "…What a surprise! I didn't think you would be here, Naru."

Naru? I gave him a puzzled glance. He did not look at me, but kept his gaze fixated on the two officers in front of him.

"Oh, Naru is here?" Fukuda sidled next to him, though she was still frowning. "What a coincidence. Naru the narcissist is here."

I had never seen Kazuya looking so angry before. He still did not say a word.

Minami laughed. "Naru the narcissist. It's so nice to see you again! It's been, what…a year since we last saw you, hasn't it? How's your brother?"

It all happened very quickly. Kazuya paced forwards, his arm drawn back, his fist clenched. He swung at Minami. His mark hit – square in the nose.

"Kazuya!" Houshou lunged forwards and grabbed him, pulling him back. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Cursing, Minami staggered backwards a little, clutching his nose. However, he soon righted himself.

"What's that? Has Takigawa finally got some fight left in him?"

Houshou hesitated, almost releasing his grip on Kazuya. I myself felt anger surge inside me.

"Can you finally shoot a gun again, Takigawa?" He went on. "Or are you still too scared to?"

Houshou released Kazuya, and strode forwards. He grabbed Minami by the scruff and lifted him into the air.

"Houshou!" I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him backwards, but he was too strong. "Houshou, stop! He's just messing with you!"

Minami struggled a little, but he still managed a smirk. "What're you going to do, Takigawa? Go on. I dare you to try something. Prove to me you're not scared."

I was terrified now. Houshou looked like he was going to beat the living shit out of the man. Not that he didn't deserve it.

"Houshou. Take a breath. Just put him down." I begged him.

"What're you going to do?" Minami asked. "What're you going to do?"

Houshou did not have the chance to respond. The door swung open, and Kei Ubusuna strode in, her eyes taking in the scene critically and rapidly.

"…What is going on?" She asked calmly.

Begrudgingly, Houshou lowered Minami to the ground. "….Nothing… chief."

Kei Ubusuna crossed her arms as she looked on the scene. "It doesn't look like nothing."

Fukuda spoke up. "…Takigawa and Shibuya attacked Sergeant Minami." She did not bother addressing my brother or Kazuya with their correct work titles.

"He provoked them!" I shouted angrily. This was so unfair.

"Stay out of this, little girl." Minami said with a roll of his eyes.

"Shut up, you feicing gobshite!"

"Mai!" Houshou grabbed me by the shoulders. "Just…go home. Let me deal with this."

"But…"

"Mai, please."

Behind us, Kei Ubusuna was writing something down. She looked up at us again.

"…Frankly, I've had enough of this. First, I heard about the law suit that was imposed upon this station due to incorrect conduct and acting without a warrant. We've already got pressure from the public and the commissioners to close this case. We can do without a law suit to add to that pressure. And now this…childish and unprofessional behaviour?" She looked between Houshou and Kazuya. "I was hoping the two of you would have gained some maturity. It looks like I was wrong. I don't want any tensions on the team that could jeopardise the case. I'm afraid I have no other choice."

I saw Houshou pale even further, but he kept an indignant and stubborn posture. "What do you mean, chief?"

"I'm suspending you both. For a month."


	15. Chapter 15: Truce

**(A/N): I'm very, very, very sorry it's taken me so long to update.**

**Unfortunately, it's reaching exam season, so I've had a lot of assessments and mocks to do. It's the holidays now, though, so I'll have more time to update.**

**This chapter isn't as long as I thought it would be...oh well.**

**Thank you very much for reading this story, and I hope you enjoy the chapter! (And maybe leave some nice reviews - thanks to everyone who ahs been reviewing so far!)**

* * *

For the next few days, my brother was at a complete loss.

At first, he drank a lot. The situation was a lot more pressing than just the suspension. We had moved here to get away from the Dublin Police Force. Houshou had been doing so well. But now…

As for Kazuya, I didn't hear from him for a day or so. I had no idea what his connections were with the Dublin Police force, but whatever that eejit Minami had said to him, it had clearly been a very sensitive issue.

"I think it was something to do with his brother." I explained to Masako as we sat in her house. I had told her the story, and she listened patiently. "And they kept on calling him 'Naru the narcissist' for some reason. I don't quite understand why."

"Hm…That is strange indeed." Masako looked thoughtful. "It definitely seems he took on a case with them. Maybe his brother had something to do with it. And, whatever happened, it ended badly."

"Yeah…that must be it."

"How is your brother holding up?"

I swallowed, and looked away. "…He's…He's coping. It's tough for him, though."

"What will he do now? While he's being…suspended."

"I don't know. He'll probably get frustrated and have to do something detective-y to bide the time with."

"What will you do? Now that you won't be able to help the police with the case anymore. Kazuya was the only one who believed you had ESP, so…"

I gave a half-smile. "Just because they've been suspended doesn't mean I'm going to let either of them stop investigating the case."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, that murderer is still at large. And we know that ghost has something to do with it. Then, when Kazuya and I broke into Yasuhara's house –"

"You broke into Yasuhara's house?!"

"Um, yeah…anyway, when we broke in, we found out that his father was withholding notes on the Yoshimi murders fifteen years ago. I had a dream about it, and we think the two cases are interlinked. And the day when Naoko Suzuki was…I went to Lin's lighthouse. He has loads of notes on all the murders that have happened. I think…there's a chance…"

"You think he might be the murderer?" Masako asked with wide eyes.

"I'm not sure. I asked John if he has any tattoos on his arm, but he wasn't sure. Apparently, he always wears jumpers, so he's never seen."

"Isn't that convenient…" Masako muttered.

"I know, I know. But I need to tell Kazuya. If there's even a small chance that Lin might be the murderer, then we could all be in danger."

* * *

Eventually, I managed to catch Kazuya at SPR. He was sitting at the table underneath the chandelier that evening as I was serving, looking nonchalant as always, but with a hint of dejection about him.

Nervously, I walked up to him. Lin was sitting in his usual spot, but was staring out of the window. I avoided going near him, and when John had served him earlier, I'd had to hold my breath.

It was not a busy evening – the drama of the new police officers from Dublin taking the case had died down a few nights ago – so we all had time to spare without needing to serve anyone. Masako had gone back to the changing room to fix her hair again. Ayako was sitting by the bar, watering her plants. John had joined her, and had fallen asleep, his head resting on his arms as he leant against the counter's surface. The other waiters and waitresses were standing around, leaning against the walls, looking bored.

"…Excuse…" I coughed. "Excuse me."

Kazuya looked up. "…Hm? What're you doing here?"

"Uh, I work here."

He didn't even respond to my sarcastic reply. He just exhaled, and stared into empty space.

"…So…How are you holding up?"

"Fine."

There was a silence.

"…Want to come with me to Piccolo Corelli tomorrow?" I blurted out suddenly.

He frowned. "…As in, go on a date?"

I blushed. "No, no, no, no! Not a date! I mean, well, it's not that I wouldn't like that, it's just, um, I _meant_ that I wanted to talk about the case with you!"

At the mention of the case, he sighed again. "…Look, you know I've been suspended –"

"So?" I folded my arms indignantly. "We have information that the other officers don't. And I came across some…important information recently. That I can't tell anyone else, but could be really important."

"What is it?"

I glanced anxiously at Lin. He was still staring out the window.

"…I'd rather not…say here."

Kazuya frowned in thought, mulling over his choices.

"Come on. It's got to be better than just sulking around here all the time."

Finally, he sighed again.

"Ok…What time?"

"U-Umm…" I tried to look nonchalant, and not ridiculously pleased. "How about 1?"

"Ok. I'll meet you there."

* * *

Piccolo Corelli was relatively empty the next day. After a lot of furious texting to Masako, I had decided to dress in my only unstained pair of jeans and a speckled T-shirt, throwing on a few nice necklaces. Of course, those were Masako's, and she'd let me borrow them – I always lost jewellery, so I decided I needed to make a conscious effort to keep them safe.

Kazuya arrived exactly on time. Somehow, this did not surprise me; he seemed like the type of person who was very punctual.

"Hello." He sat down next to me, and I played with the hem of my shirt to hide my smile. It was strange seeing him without his Garda uniform. He was still wearing black, though. "How are you?"

"I, uh…I'm fine. Sh-Should we order?"

Once we had gotten our drinks and sat down again, I was about to begin explaining all that I'd learnt when I spotted someone sitting at the back of the café, watching us intently.

"Wait a minute…why is my brother here?"

"Hm?" Kazuya tried to look around, but I grabbed his arm to make him stop.

"Sh, sh. I think he's watching you."

"What? Why is he watching me?"

I grinned. "It's him being an older brother. You could say that he's…scoping you out. Making sure you don't do anything 'untoward' to me."

"What?!" Kazuya looked simultaneously affronted and embarrassed. "Why would he think that?!"

"Never mind. Just let him have his fun. At least he's actually left the house and he's not moping around."

"Oh…" Kazuya took a drink from his tea. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but…what exactly were those police officers talking about?"

I pursed my lips. "I could ask you the same."

He faltered. "…All right. Let's both say it's a secret, then."

"Agreed." I didn't want to have to talk about it.

"So, you said you had some information to tell me?"

I nodded. "Well, a while back, I had a dream about the murderer with the mermaid tattoo. He was sitting in his bed, and he had his shirt off, and there were all these scars on his chest. And there was a photo by his bed of a woman, and it was the same woman as the spirit in the cave."

Kazuya listened on in interest as I continued. "But I felt I'd seen the woman somewhere else before, so I decided to ask around. When I mentioned it to Ayako, she talked about a woman of a similar description walking on the beach when she was little, and that woman was with Lin."

"Lin?" Kazuya sounded surprised.

"Yeah. I was suspicious, so I asked John to help me get across to the lighthouse. And – get this – remember that photo frame he had last time we went? The picture of the woman was in there. The same one as the one in the cave."

Kazuya stared at me in shock. "Really?"

"There's more. He had all these pictures of people involved in the case – not just the current one, but the Yoshimi murders, too. I don't know if he really is the murderer, but he's definitely involved."

Kazuya was silent for a moment, troubled. "…This is bad. We need to confirm whether or not he's the murderer as soon as we can."

"Is there any way we can do that?"

"The tattoo." He said immediately. "We need to check if he has one."

I sighed, and took a sip from my cappuccino. "Who is that woman, anyway?"

"I don't know. The sooner we find out, the better." Kazuya sighed. "Your brother is really putting me off. I can feel his gaze on my back. How did he even find out about this?"

Houshou was standing by the till, ordering a drink, though cast frequent and furtive glances at Kazuya.

"I don't know. Maybe when he saw me dressed nicely, he realised something was up."

Kazuya frowned. "What do you mean? I never thought you dressed _un-_nicely."

Flustered, I looked away, taking another drink. "U-Uh, um, well…thank you." My reaction made Houshou stare even harder at Kazuya as he took his drink. So much so, he did not see someone walk through the doors and into the café, looking anxiously over their shoulder, until he crashed into them, and spilt his drink over himself.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" John yelped, grabbing some napkins and trying to clean up the mess he'd made. "A-Are you ok? I'm really sorry!"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Houshou scratched his head. "It was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. At least I didn't order a hot drink, huh?"

"Oh. My. God." I turned to Kazuya quickly. "Did you just see that?!"

"See what?"

"It's like what I said when we were asking Lin about the Yoshimi murders! You know, when they were sharing the umbrella?"

"Oh, yes." Kazuya seemed to remember. "And you were saying about how it was like…I think your exact words were they were in 'some kind of romance fanfic written by a teenager with nothing better to do with her life'?"

"Exactly! And then I said that they would bump into each other at a café, and you said that you would give me 10 euro if it actually happened, along with a load of other scenarios I listed."

Kazuya scowled, and glanced away. "…No I didn't…" He muttered.

"Uh, yeah you did."

He sighed heavily. "…Yes. Yes I did." He reached into his wallet and gave me a ten euro note. "Here you are."

I put away the note happily. "Thank you very much. Now, where were we? Oh, yeah. How are we going to find out if Lin is the murderer or not?"

"Excuse me?" Houshou was staring at us, in disbelief.

"Oops." I had underestimated how close he was to us. "Uh…"

"Kazuya, what are you doing? Are you still trying to take on the case?" Houshou sat opposite him angrily. "And now you're trying to involve my sister, too?"

I could sense an argument coming on. "Hey, John!" I hurried over to him, not wanting to be involved in another one of their stupid arguments. "What brings you here?"

He shrugged, and avoided looking at me. "O-Oh. N-Nothing."

"John, are you ok?" I asked, concerned. He looked very tired. Now that I thought about it, I'd seen him fall asleep at SPR the other night. "You seem pretty anxious."

"I guess…well, I think everyone's feeling a little paranoid right now. What with…you know…the murders…"

He had a fair point, but I still had the feeling he wasn't telling the truth. Last time I had a similar feeling, it had turned out he was a merperson, so I decide to stick by my instinct this time.

However, he just smiled at me. "I'm fine. Honestly. What brings you here, Mai?"

"Oh, I was just discussing things about the case with Kazuya."

He smiled again. "In a café? As in…on a date?"

I slapped him playfully on the arm. "No! Not like that! It was…a professional meet-up." I glanced over at the two of them. "Well, it was, until they started bickering."

"…we need to continue with the case, Housou." Kazuya was insisting. "The Dublin Police Force don't know the information that we've managed to gather. We need to contribute, even if we are suspended, before more people are killed."

"But there is nothing we can do!" Houshou retaliated. He leant back in the chair, looking defeated. "…Don't you think I've been trying to think about how to help the case? There's nothing we can do."

The two of them faced each other for a while, not saying anything. Finally, my brother spoke up.

"…I used to work for the Dublin Police Force." He leant forwards again, and took a drink form my cappuccino, which I noted with annoyance. "Actually, until quite recently. But…a year and a half ago, I think, I was involved in a case."

Kazuya did not say anything as Houshou continued. "…We were at an old factory, looking for a suspect who was accused of murder. It was dark. The situation was escalating quickly. One of my co-workers had already been injured by the suspect. And…" He paused for a long time.

"…Someone came running at me. I didn't know who it was. I couldn't see who it was. I told them to stop, but they didn't. So I shot them. But…it wasn't the suspect. It was someone who had been squatting at the site. I later learnt that they hadn't spoken English, so…" He looked down at his hands.

"…For a long time, I kept on having nightmares about it. I couldn't use a gun anymore. It put me in danger more than a few times. I was diagnosed with PTSD." He shrugged. "It's more common than people think. But it severely limited what I could do at the force. I couldn't go out in the field anymore. A lot of my colleagues gave me shit about it, and it got really, really bad. In the end, my psychiatrist told me that I should leave my job for a bit, and recuperate. So I did. Then I took the next step, and left Dublin. We moved here instead." He shook his head. "I thought I'd left it all behind. I was recovering. Then those bastards had to show up here, too." Houshou glanced at Kazuya. "What about you? It sounded like you hadn't had a nice experience with those gobshites, either."

He smiled bitterly. "You could say that. I worked with them a year ago. With my brother." There was the mention of a brother again. "Let's say…I was confident in my ability. We were working on a tough case. I thought I had it all worked out. But I overlooked something important. It was a completely amateur mistake. I shouldn't have missed it. But I did. And it cost my brother his life." Like Houshou, he was silent for a long time. "…I fell into a bad place, too. It got very dire. Several times, I almost ended it completely." He did not dwell on the matter. "…But somehow, I managed to pull through. And I moved here, to escape from it. Not that that matters anymore."

He looked at Houshou. "…Take on the case with me. If we work together, even though we've been suspended, it will be much more effective."

He held out his hand. Houshou stared at it for a long time. Eventually, he shook it.

"…Ok. We work together from now on." He agreed. "But tell me everything. Don't leave out anything. Got it?"

We told him everything we knew. Well, we left out the ESP matter, and the merperson thing, and the fact we'd broken into Yasuhara's house, and we kind of skipped over the ghost part. But apart from that, we explained it all. With Houshou's help, we'd hopefully solve this case much more quickly.

Maybe we would be able to figure out if Lin really was the murderer. And maybe we would be able to do it before anyone else died.


	16. Chapter 16: Discussions

**(A/N): Hi everyone. Sorry this is a little late. How are you?**

**Exams are coming so soon and everyone is panicking. It's not fun.**

**Of course Yasuhara would be the first to ask 'that question'. **

**Unfortunately, my laptop is broken right now (this is the second time) so I'm having to use someone else's laptop right now and I don't know when it will be fixed by, but hopefully it won't take me too long to upload the next chapter.**

**If you have any questions, you can put them in a review (hint hint)**

**Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

SPR was virtually empty today, but for once, I was glad. Now, there were less people to overhear our discussions. Only Ayako, sitting behind the counter and serving a customer, and a few locals were present in the restaurant.

"So, where did you find these documents?" Houshou was asking my brother. "And why does Matsuyama's kid have them?"

Kazuya shifted uncomfortably under his questioning stare. Myself, my brother, Kazuya and John had gone to SPR, and we were sitting underneath the chandelier, where Kazuya frequently sat. The weather had reached a stalemate – after a long time of flickering between sunshine and drizzlings of rain, it had settled with a grey sky that got darker and darker as night approached. "…It's complicated. But we'll have our hands on those documents in a minute."

I nodded. "I rang him to bring them over here. He should be here soon."

"…May I ask…why am I here?" John had been lost in thought for a long time, ever since he had heard that there was a chance Lin was the murderer with the mermaid tattoo. They had been friends for a year, so it had come as a shock to him. I could tell he still didn't believe that Lin was the murderer.

"You know Lin better than any of us here." Kazuya told him. "If we want to determine whether or not he really is the murderer, we'll need your help."

He exhaled, and nodded glumly. "…Ok." I felt sorry for him, but at least he knew. If Lin was the murderer, and John hadn't known that…he could've very easily ended up as the next victim.

It took a little while for Yasuhara to arrive. He was carrying a bag, and kept on looking around himself suspiciously, as if anxious that he was being followed. When he saw us, he began to hurry over to us, stopped briefly when he saw my brother, then continued.

"I'm sorry I'm late." He glanced at my brother in confusion, probably wondering why he was there. "My father has been keeping tabs on me for the past few days. It took me a while to sneak out."

"Thanks for coming. Do you have the documents?" I asked.

He reached into his bag, and pulled out several documents that were slightly creased and wrinkled.

"You know," He placed them on the table, "I still can't believe that you two managed to break–"

He stopped when he saw me shaking my head wildly and Kazuya making 'stop' gestures at him. Houshou frowned at him in confusion, then glanced at us. We immediately stopped playing charades and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible – I played deliberately with my hair, and Kazuya began to look distractedly around the restaurant. We didn't look particularly innocent, and Houshou gave us a suspicious stare, though didn't say anything.

Yasuhara realised we hadn't told my brother that we had broken into his house, and wisely did not finish his sentence. He coughed, and gestured to the documents.

"Anyway, here are the documents. I've had a look through them myself, but you can probably make more sense of them than I can."

At once, Kazuya began to pour over them – I could remember him saying that he had found two autopsy reports among the documents, one of which had been classed as an accident, and the other never actually being reported. He took half, and Houshou took the other half. Among them, I could see glimpses of some files that seemed to be filled with scientific ramblings that looked complicated and nonsensical.

I saw Yasuhara edge closer to John, who looked a little unsettled at the intense stare he was giving him.

"…So…can I ask you something?"

"…Go on."

Yasuhara lowered his voice. "When you're a merperson…how do you…you know?"

John frowned in bemusement and tilted his head. "How do I what?"

"You know?"

"…You know what?"

"You know…because you have a tail replacing _everything _from waist down?"

"I still don't understand what you're asking."

"How do you…you know…how do you _do it_?"

John seemed to catch onto what Yasuhara was insinuating. He flushed. "That's a very intimate question I'd rather not answer."

"But…how? I just don't understand how you can do it without a –"

I pushed Yasuhara, and he almost fell out of his chair. "Stop harassing John and go and get us some drinks. I'd like a cider. John, what would you like?"

"I'm fine." He looked grateful that the topic of conversation had been changed. "Thanks."

Yasuhara readjusted his glasses. "Fine, fine. I'll go." He was smiling, though.

When he returned with the drinks, Kazuya and Houshou looked as if they had finished reading the information.

"Have you read anything interesting?" I asked, taking my drink from Yasuhara.

"Yeah." Kazuya told us grimly. "It looks like Matsuyama covered the murders of two people. One was a man called Patrick Delaney. It seemed he had been stabbed in the heart with a knife. There were signs of a struggle, too – he had bruised and scratched skin, so he must have put up a fight. Regardless, his death was still reported as an accident, according to the obituary. The true details of the autopsy report must have been covered up." Kazuya guessed.

"Yeah. A knife in the heart doesn't really sound like an accident. More like murder." I grimaced.

"The other one," Houshou looked at the documents, "was a woman by the name of Aiobhin O'Cuillin. She died of severe chlorine poisoning, it seems."

"Chlorine poisoning?" I frowned. "That's a strange way to murder someone."

"Right. And there's no mention of her name in the obituary."

"I don't think I came across the name either, when I searching for murders around fifteen years ago." Kazuya remarked.

"That's strange." Yasuhara adjusted his glasses. "So, her death was definitely covered up?" He seemed to have accepted the fact that his father had indeed hidden important case information. "There must be some significance to it, then. Some reason that drove my father to never report her death and hide the autopsy report."

"John, do either of these names mean anything to you?" I asked. "Has Lin ever mentioned them?"

He thought for a while, then shook his head. "No…Lin doesn't really like to talk much about himself. I've tried to ask about his life, but he never answers."

This would make things a lot trickier.

"Oh, there was one more thing." Kazuya placed a handful of the documents in the middle of the table. They were covered in the complex scientific data and tables. "I'm afraid it's not my area of expertise, so I can't draw any conclusions from the data."

Curiously, I picked it up. The words might have well been written in a different language – I couldn't make heads nor tails of it.

"Do you get this?" I passed it to Yasuhara, who examined it and shook his head.

"What about you?" When I passed it to John, he began to read it.

"…Give me some time." He told us. It was a pleasant surprise. "I think I know what this is about. But I might be wrong."

Somehow, I had not expected John, out of all of us, to be able to interpret the data, but I wasn't going to complain. It obviously meant something, and we needed to find out what it was.

"What should our first plan of action be?" Houshou asked.

"I think we should focus on finding out more about the two people from the autopsy report." Kazuya decided. "They definitely have some significance to the case."

"Well, where should we search? We can't exactly check the police archives." Houshou frowned, leaning on his hand.

"There's no point searching there. I had a thorough look, and I couldn't see anything of importance there." Kazuya sighed. "Where else can we search?"

"There are archives in Dublin." I suggested. "That's not too far from here. Or even the morgue or something. You could try and find the coroner who did the autopsies."

"Maybe you should ask some of the locals." Yasuhara spoke up. "Some of them around here are pretty old – like that crafter, Kenshou Imura. If they were around during the Yoshimi murders, then they'll probably know at least something about these two victims. Oh, yeah." He reached into his bag again, and then brought out a hefty laptop. "There's something I found that I think I should show you."

He opened the lid, and woke up the machine, which whirred into action. His fingers moving at a rapid pace on the keyboard, he brought up some documents, and turned it around so we could see the screen.

"I was looking at my father's bank account." He began to explain.

"What?! How did you manage to access that?!" I asked, bewildered.

"I have my ways around computers." He said casually. "Anyway, I found something strange in his account."

He gestured to the screen, and we all stared carefully at the many numbers and figures displayed.

"…I don't get it." I sat back after a minute or so.

"Sorry, I don't know what it's saying." Houshou agreed.

Kazuya shook his head. "You're going to have to explain."

Yasuhara sighed, and turned the laptop back around. "He's been getting monthly deposits of 1000 euro from an outside company."

"What?" Houshou frowned. "Why?"

"I don't know. But it's coming from a company called 'White Nights'." He did some more typing. "…They're some kind of detergent manufacturers. They're a transnational company, by the looks of it. Operate in a lot of Europe, and in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and Japan, too."

"Why is a big TNC giving your father money?" Kazuya wondered.

"Like I said, I have no idea. But maybe it has something to do with why he decided to cover up all that information?" Yasuhara closed the laptop. "Your guess is as good as mine."

* * *

For the rest of the evening, I mulled over what on earth this information could mean. John was still looking over those strange scientific notes, Yasuhara was doing more work on 'White Nights', and Houshou and Kazuya were looking into the two people whose deaths had not been reported as murders. However, I couldn't understand it. Why would Yasuhara's father hide such information? And the two people who had died…who were they? Did they have some sort of connection to the company that was paying him money?

At SPR, it was more busy than it had been for a while, which was a relief. Maybe, now that the Dublin force was working on the case, people felt a little more secure.

Ayako was certainly happy that her business was gaining more profit, so I didn't comment on my annoyance with the Dublin force. Maybe they were eejits, but at least Ayako felt happier with her restaurant not being empty.

When I had a second to spare, I realised I should share this information with Masako.

"Have you managed to get into contact with the ghost again?" I asked her as we stood by the side, waiting for an order.

Sighing, she shook her head. "No, not yet. I'm trying, but she's really keeping to herself."

"So…we don't know her name?"

Again, she shook her head. Another thought occurred to me.

"Do we know how she died?"

Masako frowned. "…I don't think she ever mentioned. She wasn't a victim of the Yoshimi killings, that's for sure. She had died before the killings started, apparently."

"If we managed to show her picture around the place, maybe someone would recognise her, and tell us more." I suggested. Unfortunately, the only picture I knew of was the one Lin owned, and there was no chance of us getting that. And I wasn't exactly a brilliant drawer, so that option was out, too.

"Well, we can always describe her." Masako said. "To some of the older people. Kenshou Imura is here tonight. Maybe we should ask him?"

The crafter was sitting at a table by himself, looking through the menu. Warily, I walked over.

"Hi! Are you ready to order?"

He put down the menu. "I'll take a Guinness." His gums weren't a healthy colour, and I tried not to grimace at the sight of them.

As I wrote down his order, I decided to bring up the topic. "…Fifteen years ago…Someone lived here, I think. Red hair. Green eyes. Very pretty. You didn't know her, by any chance?"

Kenshou Imura stared at me for a long time, and I avoided his look nervously, staring at my feet.

"…Why do you want to know about her?" He asked me, his voice suspicious.

I just shrugged, not knowing what excuse to give.

"…She came to my shop once. Beautiful voice. Like water running when she laughed." He stared out towards the window. "Lovely singing voice. She was staying with her brother or her husband or something. I can't remember. But one day, she left. Never saw her again."

"Do you remember her name?" I asked, feeling myself getting excited.

However, he shook his head. "I can't remember. Why do you ask?"

Biting back my disappointment, I shrugged. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

* * *

As the evening progressed, the restaurant got busier, and soon I had no time to think about the murders or the identity of the ghost. Many of the locals had decided it was safe to return to the restaurant. However, there was no sign of Lin. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

It was only later, after I had gotten changed and was waiting outside for Houshou to pick me up, that I got a phone call.

"Hello?" I did not recognise the number.

"Mai, it's me, John." He was whispering. "I've tried to contact your brother and Kazuya, but they're not answering. Listen, I think I know what those papers were about."

"What? Really?!"

"Are you still at SPR? I left early to do a bit of research at the library. I'll come see you if you haven't left."

"No, I'm still here. What exactly did you find?"

"That information, it was talking about some samples that –"

"Excuse me."

Jumping, I lowered the phone from my ear. Kenshou Imura was approaching me, staggering a little as he walked.

"You. Young lass." He reached me, and already I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"…Is…Is something wrong?" I asked hesitantly as he stood, panting. It seemed the small distance he had walked had been a little too overexerting for him.

"…Aoibhin O'Cuillan." He said finally.

I froze. That name…that was the name of the woman who had died from chlorine poisoning. The one who was found in the ocean, but whose death had never been reported.

"…I'm sorry?"

"That was her name. Aoibhin O'Cuillan. I don't know why you want to know, but that was her name." With that, he stumbled away again, singing an old traditional song to himself; very loudly, and very out of tune.

Frantically, I put my phone to my ear again, almost dropping it in my excitement. "John! John, guess what?"

On the other end, there was no reply.

"…Um…John? Hello?" Frowning, I lowered the phone. It had been hung up. Maybe he thought it had disconnected?

Quickly, I tried to ring back the number, but there was no response.

Immediately, I couldn't help but feel nervous. However, I brushed it off. He was probably just trying to ring Houshou or Kazuya again. I would just have to wait here until he met me or rang me.

Soon, all the customers had either left SPR, or had returned to the inn section of the building. The door opened behind me, and Ayako walked out.

"Oh, hey Mai." She frowned. "You ok? Aren't you getting picked up by your brother?"

"Oh, he's late. It's fine. I'm waiting for John anyway. He's coming from the library." I looked around nervously. "You haven't seen him around, have you?"

"No. Have you called him?"

"A few times, yeah. It just goes straight to voice mail."

Ayako frowned. "Really?"

"Yeah."

She paused, as if considering something. Then she began to walk down the street.

"Ayako? Where are you going?!"

"He can't be far." She called back. "You said he was coming from the library, right?"

I ran after her. She was a very fast walker, and I had to jog to keep up with her.

"W-Well, maybe he's just a slow walker?" I panted.

"I don't think so." Ayako looked at me grimly. "Do we really want to risk that, with everything that's been going on recently?"

She had a fair point. "…You're right. But you don't think…"

She paused abruptly, and I almost ran into her. She had stopped, and was peering down an alley way. It was very small and dark; the buildings were quite close together in Carlingford, and though they weren't particularly high, they still managed to block any of the street lights from illuminating the area.

Ayako placed her hand on my shoulder. "Stay here." She whispered to me, then moved slowly forwards.

Swallowing, I tried to look past her, straining my eyes against the darkness.

At the far end, two people were talking. As my eyes adjusted, I realised one was John.

"…I don't know what you're talking about." He was saying desperately. "I'm not from New South Wales. I'm from Queensland. And I'm not a –"

"That's a lie. I know what you are, and I know what happened to the rest of your lot." I hadn't heard the other speaker's voice before. They wore a jumper with the hood drawn up, but one look at their stance and posture, I could tell they weren't planning on having a friendly conversation.

"You must be mistaken. Please, leave me alone."

John turned to leave. A hand reached out and yanked him back.

I watched in horror, motionless. The speaker slammed him against the wall, and held him there by the neck.

"I wasn't finished. I know you're lying. Now, tell me the truth."

"John!" I screamed. He struggled against the grip of the attacker, but to no avail.

Ayako ran forwards. "Hey! Back off!"

The attacker barely noticed her. She rolled up her sleeves, and pushed the person with more strength than I expected. Before they could move, she delivered a punch to their face.

Their grip on John loosened, and he struggled out of their grasp, falling to the floor. When the attacker made to follow, Ayako kicked them in between the legs.

"I said. Back off." She kept her leg raised and her fists clenched, ready to kick again if the attacker moved again. Her movements were fluid and collected, more poised than a ballerina.

I grabbed John and dragged him away, behind Ayako. "John! Are you ok?"

He was clutching his head, and I realised it was bleeding, but he nodded. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine."

I looked back to Ayako. The attacker lingered, clutching what must have been their nose under the hood. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, they turned and fled.

Ayako let out a breath. "John, are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"U-Uh…A-A bit…"

Ayako walked over, not looking a bit phased at the fighting she had done, and examined John's head wound.

"We'd better get you to the hospital. Who was that?"

John didn't say anything. He looked shocked.

A thought surfaced in my mind, making me cold with dread. "Was that…the murderer with the mermaid tattoo?"

Ayako went pale, but did not answer me. "Come on, let me give you a hand." She put John's arm around her shoulder. He still hadn't said a word, but he suddenly looked very scared.

"John, was that…did you know who that was?"

He shook his head. "…No. I-I didn't see their face."

"Are you sure? Did you see anything? Anything at all?"

He paused, wincing. "…I…I think it was a man…And there was something on his arm…"

Dread surged into me like a wave.

"…What?"

"I don't know, I couldn't see all of it."

We got to Ayako's car, parked outside the inn. She opened the back door, and John got in.

"I'm coming too." I decided.

"What? Mai, go home. Your brother will be worried about you."

"No. I'm coming too."

Ayako sighed, and made to argue, but when she saw my determined expression, she gestured to the back.

"Fine, fine. John, take this." She passed him some tissues. "Hold it to the wound."

He took them gratefully, and I sat next to him. The sight of blood kept on reminding me of Noriko and Hideo Atsuki – bleeding on the streets. I tried to fight the queasiness. John could have ended up like that, very easily.

"Mai." He grabbed my sleeve suddenly, and gestured me to move closer. His grip was very tight, and his voice lowered to a whisper. "That man…he knew."

"What?" I hadn't seen him looking so worried before.

"He knew what I am. He knew that I'm a merperson."


	17. Chapter 17: The Hillside

**(A/N): I'm really, really, really sorry I've taken so long to update. I've had a load of exams, and I just had absolutely no time to do any updating. I'm very sorry for keeping you waiting.**

**On the plus side, my exams are now over! :D I'll be able to do more writing now (since I won't have to do revision) so hopefully I will be able to update on a more regular basis.**

**Having a sister who does psychology is very useful (thank you Wolfstadt :) )**

**Fionn mac Cumhaill was a famous mythological warrior and leader, who ate the Salmon of Wisdom, or Knowledge. The Children of Lir were children who were turned into swans by Aoife, their stepmother who was jealous of their relationship between them and their father. The children stayed as swans for 900 years, during which time Saint Patrick converted Ireland into Christianity. the story usually ends with them turning back but dying because they were so old. Finally, the Long Woman was a Spanish Noble Woman who eloped to Ireland with her lover but died shortly after, driving her lover to commit suicide. (This will all make sense later on.)**

**Thank you very much for reading this story! I hope you enjoy the chapter! (And sorry for the wait!)**

* * *

The hospital was small and empty. All the staff looked tired, and most carried around coffees and other hot drinks to keep them awake.

We had brought John to the hospital, and a doctor with breath the smell of fish examined him, scanned the wound, and stitched it up.

"You've bled a lot, but you weren't hit hard, so you won't have to stay the night." He was telling John, who tried not to wince from the stitches.

"Are you sure? He'll be ok?" Ayako asked worriedly, hovering around like an anxious parent.

"He'll be fine. You'll have to come back tomorrow, though, so we can give it another check over." The doctor brought out some bandages, and wrapped it around his head. "The wound will heal quickly, and your son will be fine." Content with his handiwork, he sat back in his chair, behind a cluttered desk. "You're free to leave now."

"Son?!" Ayako was muttering angrily to herself as we left the doctor's office. "How old does he think I am?!"

"Sorry. People always think I'm younger than I am." John apologised, looking down at the dried blood on his fingers in dissatisfaction. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"It's fine. But you need to be more careful." She put a hand on his shoulder gently. "Don't go wandering round the streets at night, ok? Not with a murderer on the loose."

John nodded. "I won't. Sorry."

"Hey, that was some cool stuff you did back there." I nudged Ayako.

"What?"

"That fighting! Where did you learn to do that?"

She smiled bitterly. "Let's just say…I had a reason to learn it." For some reason, she seemed reluctant to talk about it, so I decided to drop the subject.

"Anyway, John, you're going to have to report this to the police."

I scowled. "Poor you. You're going to have to talk to those two gobshites at the force. Man, if my brother hadn't gone and gotten suspended, this would be a lot easier."

Ayako pointed down the corridor. "Speak of the devil."

I turned, to see Kazuya and Houshou hurrying towards us, and tried not to squeal at the former's appearance.

"Is everything ok?" Houshou looked over us all anxiously. "I heard something about an attack. What happened?"

"John was attacked by someone in an alleyway." Ayako told him.

"What? Oh my God, are you ok?!"

"Yeah." John touched his forehead experimentally. "I'm fine. He hit me, but otherwise, I'm fine. Ayako saved me. If she hadn't, it could have ended up a lot worse."

"You think it was the same person who murdered the others?" Kazuya asked Houshou quietly.

"Could be." He turned back to John. "Can you tell us what happened?"

John nodded. "I'd been looking at these documents Yasuhara gave you, in the library, and I finally understood what they're about. I tried to ring both of you, but I couldn't reach either of you."

"Damn it. We were at the morgue in Dundalk, trying to find more info on those two victims. There was no reception down there. I'm sorry."

"It's ok." John reassured him. "I rang Mai anyway – you gave me her number the other day." That explained how he knew to ring me.

"Why did you give him my number?" I asked Houshou.

"In case something happened to you. You've made it clear you want to be a part of this case, and that's fine, but I don't want anything bad to happen to you. That's all."

I shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Then what happened?" Kazuya asked.

"We agreed to meet up at SPR. I decided to take a shortcut down that alleyway." He grimaced. "That was a bad decision. That man approached me and started asking me about where I was from." Suddenly, he looked down. His face had gone pale again.

"I don't know why he wanted to know. But he was very adamant about it. When I tried to leave, he grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. Then Ayako came, beat him up, and he ran away. Then we came here." He left out what he had told me in the car, which I understood.

"You beat him up?" Kazuya looked to Ayako.

"Yeah. It wasn't a big deal." She said casually, examining her nails, as if she had merely told someone off rather than punch an attacker in the face, then kick them where it hurts.

"Was there anything identifiable about the person who attacked you?" Houshou asked gently as Kazuya scribbled it down.

"…He walked with a limp." John tilted his head. "And he sounded out of breath. I didn't see his face…And there was something on this arm. I didn't see it fully, but something was there. Like a picture."

This was not sounding good. "A picture?"

"He'd rolled up his sleeve a little." John showed us with his own sleeve. Only half of his forearm was showing. "And there was a bit of a picture there. Like the end of a mer – a, um, a fish or something."

That settled it. "So we're almost definitely dealing with the murderer?" Kazuya summed up.

"Sounds like it." Houshou agreed, sighing. "John, you should tell the police about this, and they may offer you some protection, but in the event that they don't, stay with me and Mai. Hopefully, by staying with someone who has police training, it will deter any attacks."

John nodded gravely. "Ok. Oh." He reached into his bag, and brought out some rather dishevelled papers, and gave them a quick read over. "Those papers that Yasuhara gave us – the ones you found at his house – I think I managed to figure them out."

Kazuya glanced at John. "Really?"

John looked up from the papers. "Yeah. My uncle used to work with information like this. He told me a little about it."

"Your uncle?" It was the first time John had mentioned anyone in his family.

"Yeah. He was an ocean conservation worker. Did a lot of projects with the Australian Institute of Marine Science to study coral bleaching and protect the Great Barrier Reef. He was always looking at data like this." He gestured to the information in his hands. "It's talking about some samples of water that were being studying by the author of this paper. I don't know where the original source of the samples came from, but they were really, really dirty."

"Huh?" I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Apart from the control sample that must have just come from a lab, all of the samples were filled with really poisonous chemicals, especially chlorine…It goes on about all the possible effects on the environment. Fish getting ill, marine plants dying…wherever this is, you would not want to go swimming in that water."

"Wait…Chlorine?" I frowned. "Didn't that woman – Aoibhin O'Cuillin – die from chlorine poisoning?"

"Yeah. Maybe she drank this water, and that's how she was poisoned?" Houshou wondered.

"I'm not so sure." John looked at the papers again. "This water was salt water."

"Still, there must be some correlation between the two facts." Kazuya said. "It must have had something to do with Aoibin O'Cuillin's death."

"Did you manage to see anything identifiable?" Houshou asked Ayako.

As the two of them talked, I stepped away quietly, gesturing Kazuya and John to follow me.

"Kazuya." I looked over my shoulder, making sure no one was listening in on us. "John told me that the murderer knew he was a merperson."

Kazuya's eyes widened. "What?!"

"He kept on saying 'I know you're not fully human. I know what you are.'" John told him miserably.

Kazuya's face darkened. "Lin knows you're a merperson."

John shook his head. "No, he wasn't tall enough. Lin is about 6 foot 3. The man who attacked me was…what, 5 foot 8? 9? Not as tall as Lin, anyway."

Kazuya looked doubtful, but did not comment on the matter. "…Ok. Well, I want you to stay with Mai for a while, whatever the police say. You're probably our best witness right now. Noriko is still in hospital, and Kenji is having trouble remembering much about the attacker's identity."

John nodded. "What about Lin?"

"We'd prefer it if you would avoid him for a little while." Kazuya told him. "Until we can discount him as a suspect."

"He wasn't the person who attacked me. Really." John insisted. "I've been his friend for more than a year now, I've been over to his lighthouse by myself countless times, and he's known that I'm a merperson the entire time. Why would he wait until now to attack me?"

"If that's the case, then you have nothing to worry about. But we need to be thorough. We can't afford to abandon this lead just yet."

John sighed, but nodded. "Ok. I understand."

We walked back over to Houshou and Ayako, who had just finished her account of the incident.

"We're probably going to have to go and fill out a witness statement or something at the police station, John." She looked at her watch. "I'm just hoping someone will still be there."

"I'm sure they will be. They've been working overtime to try and finish this case. Apparently." Houshou couldn't hide the slight tone of bitterness from his voice.

As they talked, I turned to Kazuya quietly.

"John made a good point there." I told him. "Do you still really think Lin is the murderer?"

"I don't know. But although John is our best witness, in this case, he could be biased."

"Huh?"

"He's been friends with Lin for a year. Lin actually saved him when they first met, from Matsuyama's fishing net, didn't he?"

"Yeah. So?"

"That means that, even if the person who attacked John was actually Lin, his observations could have subconsciously been altered to make them not match Lin. He wouldn't be doing it deliberately, but it's common in witnesses who are attacked by someone close to them."

"Oh, I get it…He's not lying, but because he doesn't want the murderer to be Lin, he might have subconsciously changed the details of the attack in his mind?"

"Exactly. In contrast, if we were to try a line-up, his judgement might be altered by source confusion."

"Huh? What's that?"

"We've been speaking about the possibility of Lin being the murderer quite often to him. In hindsight, this may not have been entirely wise, though it was for his own good. If he were to recognise the murderer in any way – perhaps even if they look familiar to him – in his attempt to remember, he could very well mistake them for an innocent person he knows. It's a common problem in eye witnesses when a murder or crime takes place in an area they know very well, or the suspects are people they know. Either way, I could be wrong, but I don't want to risk it. So we need to find out for ourselves. Meet me outside SPR tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock."

"W-What?" I stared at him. "Why?"

"We need to sort out this business with Lin once and for all."

"B-But," I stammered, "shouldn't you do that with my brother? In case he really is the murderer?"

"No. I need you specifically because of your ESP."

"Ok…What are we going to do?"

"We need to follow him. Track his movements."

I frowned. "That sounds dangerous."

"Well, we need to watch him, in case the murderer strikes again. The periods between the attacks are getting shorter and shorter. We need to do something. Either Lin is the murderer, or he has valuable information I'd like to know about Aoibhin O'Cuillin."

I sighed. "You know, it won't be easy to sneak away from my brother with a murderer waltzing around the streets, especially since John was attacked. I mean, you wouldn't want your loved ones wandering around the place, the knowing where they are, in a situation like this, would you?"

His demeanour stiffened and his face paled. I remembered what he had told Houshou about his brother, and I moved hastily on. "Look, shouldn't we put some more thought into this?"

Kazuya blinked in disbelief. Then, affronted, he crossed his arms and stared at me indignantly.

"You forced me to row out into the middle of the sea at night to look for a merperson. Then you forced me to break into someone's house based on a whim. Frankly, I don't think you have much right to say that."

"Hey, I was right both times though, wasn't I?"

"That's not the point. Look, if you don't want to come, fine. But I could really do with your help."

Something about his comment struck me. Kazuya did not seem like the type of person to admit needing help. Actually, he seemed pretty proud. This kind of claim did not match his personality.

"…Fine. But on one condition." I folded my arms stubbornly. "You have to tell me what happened at Matsuyama's house with the alarm. What you did to turn it off."

Kazuya scowled, and looked away uncomfortably. He did not say anything for a while.

"Fine." He spoke up at last. "I'll explain. But you can't tell anyone."

"Deal." We shook hands. "Why do you need me, anyway?"

"I'll explain later. Remember, meet me at 3 o'clock tomorrow."

* * *

The next day was overcast and grey. Mist was rolling in from the hills, and the air was still and stagnant with a biting chill to it. The sea was a dull blue colour, lapping against the shore restlessly. Normally, this kind of weather never really brought tourists down to the area, and days like these were quiet, but there had been so few tourists anyway, I almost missed the noise.

Somehow, I was glad Kazuya had wanted to meet me in the day. There was no way I wanted to be creeping around at night anymore. Still, I wondered what he planned to do – following Lin wouldn't be easy, and it wasn't like we could go and asked him outright whether or not he had killed a load of people recently.

I gathered my things quickly, and climbed down the ladder into the kitchen.

John had slept on our very battered sofa that night – we offered him one of our beds, but he insisted that he would be fine.

"I've slept out at sea more than a few times before." He had told me. "I'm fine, honestly."

He certainly didn't look tired that morning. If anything, he looked at little more at ease than he had done the past few days. Maybe it was knowing that, if something bad did happen, he was in a household with someone who knew how to use a gun. In the end, I realised I never found out what had been troubling him when he ran into Piccolo Corelli the other day. I would have to ask him at some point.

Right now, he and Houshou were watching some sort of news report on the TV. I sat down on the edge of the sofa, tying up my laces.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's about the case, and the most current murder." Houshou told me, arms crossed and a frown on his face.

Looking at the screen, I saw Minami was talking to the news reporter.

"…two murders have occurred, and another person was attacked. We can't disclose much details about the case just yet, but we can confirm that the boat sinkings in the past few weeks that were thought to be accidents are most likely to be the work of the murderer, too."

"Ugh. Look at him." Houshou scowled. "He's so arrogant. He's probably loving this publicity."

"Do you know him?" John asked, puzzled.

"You could say that." Houshou glowered.

"Just watching him is annoying." I pulled on my jacket. "Change the channel or something."

At the same time, the two of them reached for the remote, accidentally brushing hands.

Though they apologised briefly to each other, not really dwelling on what had just happened, I tried to bite back a grin. That was another one of the scenarios in my wager against Kazuya.

"I'm going out." I told Houshou. "Will you do the shopping while I'm out? We're out of milk."

"Yeah, sure. How long you going to be out?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to be wandering around at night. I don't think many people will, actually. I have a feeling word will have gotten around of you being attacked, John." It was probably going to be the source of talk at SPR – if there were many people at SPR tonight. Only the locals would probably be there; tourist numbers were non-existent right now, and the only reason SPR was still open was because of the local regulars who came. If this case wasn't sorted out soon, a lot of businesses were going to fail.

* * *

When I reached SPR, I saw that Kazuya was already outside, waiting for me. The thought made me smile despite myself.

"Oh, there you are." His tone was immediately business-like. "Now, I've just checked inside, and –"

He paused, frowning at my outstretched hand.

"They tried to reach for the remote at the same time. Brushed hands. You owe me 10 euro."

He began to protest, but my determined expression made him stop. Sighing heavily, he passed over the money.

"Thank you." I put it away, cheerfully ignoring his scowl. "What were you saying?"

"I was saying that Lin isn't in SPR right now, but I did see him down at the pier, talking with some of the fishermen."

We began to walk. "Well, how are we going to figure out if he's the murderer? In case you haven't noticed, it's not like I'm a detective or in the forensics industry or something."

"You don't need to be. All we need to do it find out if he has that tattoo on his arm."

"Oh, right. Wait, how do you plan to do that?"

"It shouldn't be too hard. It's summer, and the man is wearing a jumper. He's going to roll up his sleeves at some point. Although," he looked to the sky, worriedly, "the weather might work against us. It's quite cold today."

"Yeah, but, whoever the murderer is, Madoka's articles would have alerted them that everyone knows about the tattoo. They're probably going to be very careful to make sure no one sees it."

"Look, we'll figure it out. Trust me." He spoke confidently.

When we arrived at the pier, though, I couldn't see Lin anywhere.

"Damn. He's gone." Kazuya looked around, trying to spot him on the streets.

"Well, let's just asked someone where he went."

In the end, we asked one of the fishmongers who was on the pier, untangling nets.

"Oh, Lin? He went up to the castle." She pointed to the lonely stone building. "You friends of his or something?"

"Uh, yeah…something like that." I lied.

Somehow, this surprised the fishmonger. "Lin? With friends?"

"What, doesn't he have any?"

"Well, I know he's been friends with that Australian lad for a year or so, and he has plenty of acquaintances – it's hard not to around here – but friends is a completely different matter."

"Why doesn't he have many friends?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, I don't know. Fifteen years back or so, he was a lot more approachable, but something must have happened, and he became the antisocial lighthouse keeper we know today."

Fifteen years ago. Of course it always came back to that.

"Thank you for the information." We walked away, and I murmured, "Fifteen years, huh?"

"That's suspicious." Kazuya agreed. "This is getting interesting."

When we approached the castle, Kazuya turned to me. "We're going to have to be careful. Stay quiet. If he's up there, we don't want to alert him."

Somehow, each step up to the castle seemed to be scattered with branches, or dense with gravel, and I winced every time I made a noise. Either side of the path, colourful wildflowers grew on the embankment, stretching towards the scarce sunlight in a stark contrast to the monochromatic tones of the sky.

"Ok." Kazuya gestured for me to stop. "Wait here." He crept towards the edge of the castle, peering over to the picnic area. I followed him anyway.

"Is he there?" I breathed.

A moment of silence. Then Kazuya sighed.

"…No."

Groaning, I walked around the corner and sat down on one of the benches, arms crossed. The looming structure of the castle threw a shadow across us, putting us in the cold even more.

"What do we do now?"

Kazuya walked slowly around the area, observing everything meticulously. "We just need to find out where he went."

I frowned. "And how do you suggest we do that?"

He stopped by one of the benches and bent down, looking under the table.

"Hm." He straightened himself up, and empty beer bottle in his hands. "Litter bug. I assume Lin left this."

I raised my eye brow. "And you think an empty beer bottle will help us find him?"

He ignored my snide comment. "Mai, come here."

"What?" I walked over, bemused, as he turned the beer bottle around in his hands, examining it thoroughly.

"Hold my hand."

I stared at him, speechless. "U-U-Uh…_What_?"

He held it out. "Just humour me."

At once, I felt a flush rising up to me face, so I shook myself and shrugged, trying to look casual.

"Ok." I took his hand, praying my own weren't sweaty. "Why?"

"Close your eyes."

"Uh…Ok…" I closed them. What the hell did he want to do?

"Focus on the bottle."

I imagined it in my head. Kazuya's grip on my hand was painfully tight.

"What are –"

"Sh."

Frowning, I opened my eyes slightly. What was going on?

I froze.

Lin was right there. Sitting at the bench, staring right past us. A bottle in his hands.

He did not speak. Occasionally, he drank from the bottle, but other than that, he barely moved.

"Kazuya." I hissed urgently. "He's here."

"I know. Watch carefully."

Miraculously, Lin had not noticed us. He looked out to the sea, drinking, and then sighed heavily. Ran his hand over his face.

Slowly, he stood up, dropping the bottle on the ground half-heartedly. Looking back at the sea one last time, he turned, and began to walk away from the castle, towards the hills that were adorned with fog and heather.

There was a jolt, and I closed my eyes, disorientated. Shaking my head, I opened them again. Lin was gone.

"Wh-What was –"

"Damn." Kazuya let go of my hand and paced up and down the clearing. "That was shorter than I thought it would be."

"Kazuya, what the –"

"I'll explain later. Come on. He went this way." Kazuya headed towards the hills, where we had just seen Lin walk.

I hurried after him. "Kazuya! Tell me!" Was that a vision, like my ESP? But I could never have specific ones – only random ones. So how did that vision just happen?

"I told you, I'll tell you later. There's no time." Kazuya called back to me as he trekked up the hills, stepping his way over rocks and uneven tufts of grass.

Panting, I caught up with him. "Multitask, then! Talk and walk!"

"We need to focus on finding Lin." He replied curtly.

I groaned in frustration. "You said you'd tell me what was going on!"

"I know, and I will, after we find Lin. But not now."

Scowling, I trudged along beside him. "How do you know where he went? These hills are pretty big and there are a lot of them. I hope you're not planning to search them all."

"Of course not. We'll find him, it will be fine." Somehow, the overconfidence in his voice made me suspect otherwise.

The hills were damp and wet, swathed in purple heather and cloaked in the silver mist that had rolled in from the sea . Up there, the wind was stronger, and bitterly cold. Rabbit holes peppered the slopes, and the soil was waterlogged. Jagged rocks and boulders, covered in moss, blocked our path several times. Despite the hostility of the terrain, there was something beautiful about the area, untouched by humans and inherently wild. It reminded me of the old traditional stories Houshou had told me when I was younger, like of Fionn mac Cumhail, the Children of Lir who were turned into swans, or the story of the Long Woman, whose grave was nearby. Ancient and untamed.

At long last, we caught up with Lin. He was walking slowly, with his back to us, climbing up a steep hill that was dotted with rocks and boulders, interspersed with the flowers from the heather. He walked over them effortlessly, not stumbling once.

Kazuya turned to me, putting his finger on his lips. When Lin had reached the top, not looking once over his shoulder, we silently began to follow him up the hill.

It was a lot harder than Lin had made it look. Soon, I was out of breath, and my knees were covered with grass stains from tripping and accidentally putting my foot into a rabbit hole so much. When we reached the top, I was ready to sit down and sleep on the grass, even though it was wet.

"Get down." Kazuya whispered. "We don't want him to see us yet."

"It's kind of hard not to see us." I whispered back. "He's at the top of the hill."

"Well, if he hasn't already, he'll see us now. So get down."

Carefully, we crouched down behind one of the many rocks that were dispersed among the hillside, and I realised glumly that the grass stains I had accumulated would take a long time to wash out. Slowly, not daring to move quickly, we peered over the rock.

I could see Lin, his back to us, kneeling on the grass, very still, by the far edge of the hill. Clumps of heather surrounded him, and they looked somewhat brighter than the rest of the flowers we had seen on the way up. The area overlooked the sea, its grey and smudged horizon stretching far out into the distance. For a brief moment, I was suddenly reluctant to disturb him. His posture was one of a plain, simple sadness. Grief.

"…Right. You stay here. I'll try and – Mai, what are you doing?!"

I stood up, and walked out from behind the rock, and up the rest of the hill.

Lin did not seem to notice me, and I did not call out to him.

"Mai?!" Kazuya whispered frantically after me.

I walked slowly towards Lin. Just looking at him, sitting there…That feeling of certainty had overwhelmed me again – a sure feeling of sympathy.

Lin was not the murderer with the mermaid tattoo.

I got nearer, the mist beginning to thin around my feet, and stood a few metres behind him. I could see a large, stone plaque in front of him, rough and weathered. Two words had been engraved on it:

'AOIBHIN O'CUILLIN'.

We remained in silence for a very long time before Lin finally spoke up.

"…She died of chlorine poisoning." His voice was toned with emotion that I had never heard from him before. "She went out swimming one day. When she came back, she was so ill. I didn't know what was wrong with her. I took her to the hospital, but…"

"…Who was she to you?"

"…We were in a relationship together." Somehow, this came as a small shock to me. I had not pictured Lin as the type to have any kind of partner. "We met twenty years ago. Nearing our fifth anniversary when she passed away." He looked up at me. "Why are you here?"

"I –"

"Are you trying to figure out if I'm the murderer?"

"U-Uhhhhh…"

Sighing, he stood up, and rolled up his sleeves.

Both arms were bare. No tattoos.

"You're not the murderer!" I breathed.

"Of course I'm not." He sat down again, scowling. "You saw the murderer yourself in person, didn't you? When Noriko was stabbed?"

"Y-Yeah, why?"

"Was he the same height as me?"

I looked down sheepishly. I had never really thought of it at the time. "…N-No…he was…smaller than you…" John had made the same point.

Lin made a noise that could have been a laugh. "Most people are."

"I…I didn't really think about that…"

"Neither did I." Kazuya joined us, and Lin showed no surprise at his presence. He only rolled his eyes.

"John was the only person who was able to give us a potential height for the murderer, but I still wasn't sure if his witness statement was entirely reliable, since the two of you are friends."

"John saw the murderer? What happened?" Lin asked, and I remembered that we had told John to stay away from Lin for a while. It made sense he didn't know about the attack.

"John was attacked by the murderer. He's fine, though. Anyway –"

"Why didn't I hear about this?!" Lin demanded.

"We, uh…We told John not to talk to you…just in case you were…you know…"

Lin glared at us.

"If it's any consolation, John didn't think you were the murderer." Kazuya spoke up, slightly intimidated by Lin's stare. "But…I have to ask, why did you have photos of the current murder victims and those involved in the Yoshimi murders at your lighthouse?"

Lin frowned. "How did you know I had those?"

I turned away, laughing. "Y-Yeah, I wonder…"

"So that's what you were doing in my lighthouse." Lin scowled.

"Sorry about that. But, why did you have them?" I asked.

"…The Yoshimi murders, fifteen years ago. I'm sure they're related to this case. I was doing some research."

"So you think that they're related, too?" Kazuya said. "We've been doing some research on the murders, and we found some interesting information."

"What sort of information?"

"Five people were killed – the three members of the Yoshimi family, Aoibhin O'Cuillin, and a man called Patrick Delaney, who worked for a company called White Nights. For some reason, the deaths of Delaney and O'Cuillin were not reported as murders; instead, Delaney's was reported as an accident, and O'Cuillin's death was never mentioned. Like you, we think the incident has something to do with the current events."

Lin studied us carefully. "…You and that other detective were suspended, weren't you?"

Kazuya pursed his lips. "Yes."

"But you're still working the case?"

"…Yes."

"Will you help us?" I asked him. "You have some information about Aoibhin O'Cuillin that we don't, and we're certain that she is key to this case."

Lin exhaled, and looked out to the sea once more with weathered eyes.

"…Fine. What do you want to know about her?"


	18. Chapter 18: In The Rain

**(A/N): Hello again :) Sorry for the short delay - this chapter took longer to upload than I anticipated...**

**Initially, this story wasn't meant to be particularly big, but I've actually been really enjoying it and, somehow, it's ended up a longer and more complex than I originally intended. I don't mind, though. I'm finding it really fun!**

**In past reviews, there have been a few questions about the setting of the story (I think I've answered some of them via PM) but I thought I'd answer any queries here. I'm half Irish, on my mother's side, and I go to Ireland a lot, so don't worry, I do know what I'm talking about! **

**Just some info about Carlingford and Ireland - Carlingford is a small Irish coastal town in the Republic of Ireland. The ROI is different to Northern Ireland, as Northern Ireland is part of the UK - that is, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. ROI is NOT in the UK. It is an entirely different country. So, the United Kingdom = England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. (Also, Great Britain = England, Scotland, and Wales.) It's pretty complicated! The term 'the British Isles' can be used to refer to the two geological land masses that make up all the countries, but this term generally isn't used a lot as it does not take into account any of the political boundaries. **

**Also, (no one has asked this but I thought I'd put it in) the name Aoibhin is pronounced 'Ay-Veen'. A lot of non-Irish people struggle to pronounce and spell some Irish names, so that's how you pronounce that name. (I have a sister called Aoife and people often have no idea how to spell her name).**

**Oh yeah, I mentioned the Garda - that is the name for the police in the ROI. **

**As for the characters, most of them have Japanese names, but that is just because I thought it would be fun to put in real characters from Ghost Hunt (I think I mentioned that in the first chapter?) I don't really mind what you think of them in terms of ethnicity, but assume that everyone's nationality is Irish. That is, apart from John and Masako, who I am keeping as Australian (for important reasons) and Japanese (because I can.) It will be easy to see who the OCs are, actually, because they'll be the only ones without Japanese names :L **

**Oh, yeah. A lot of the places I talk about in this fanfic are actually real places in Carlingford (e.g. the castle ruins, the clam farm, the Long Woman's Grave). Of course, Seagull's Point Restaurant isn't actually a real place - that would have been very cool if it was, though! Finally, (confession time) there isn't actually a lighthouse in Carlingford (sorry to disappoint anyone!). At the very early stages of the plan for this fic, when I had just really gotten the idea for a seaside au, there were only two things I was definitely sure that I really wanted to do; have John be a merperson, and make Lin the grumpy lighthouse keeper. Later, I decided to make Carlingford the setting for the fic, but the idea of Lin being a lighthouse keeper was so fixed in my mind, I decided I didn't want to change it. Sorry about that...**

**Finally, Naru's accent...Well, you can assume it's English. (I spoke with someone about this, and where I'm from, 'British' accent will generally mean an English one as opposed to a Welsh/Scottish one, but that might change from region to region, as technically, a British accent could mean from any of the three countries.) As for whereabouts in England Naru is in this fic...I don't know. I didn't think it was ever mentioned in the manga? To be honest, I always just assumed he was from London, as most 'English' characters from non-English stories are from London. But...who knows. He could be from Gloucestershire for all we know. So, his accent could be anything. Actually, my cousin from Ireland mentioned she could only just tell the difference between my accent and the accent of one of my other cousins, and we live at other ends of the country, so Mai probably hasn't pinpointed where Naru is from. I'll let you all come up with your own theories with where he's from in England. Where do you all imagine he's from?**

**I think that's everything...If you ever have a question, just put it in a review and I'll be happy to answer it :)**

**This is a very long author's note. Sorry about that!**

**Thank you so much for reading this story! I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It had begun to rain again, the grey stratus drifting slowly over the area. The sea had become choppy and agitated, and I wondered if John would go out swimming tonight – like he had the night I'd had my first ESP vision, when the murderer attacked the fourth fishing boat with a bomb.

Sitting by Lin's seat in SPR, I realised Kazuya still hadn't told me what exactly had happened at Yasuhara's house, or the hills an hour earlier. I needed to find that out. He'd promised, after all.

The restaurant was not as empty as it had been, which was a good sign. People had come in to shelter from the rain, not wanting to be caught in the downfall. I was glad to see the small increase in business for Ayako – even the regular drunk man was here, sitting moodily on a bar stool and already drinking an impressively large beer, and it was somewhat comforting to see him after his recent absence from the restaurant.

Lin took a long drink from his own beer, and looked out the window.

"I'll need to get back to the lighthouse soon, if the weather keeps up like this."

"Well, can you tell us about Aoibhin?" Kazuya interjected quickly.

Lin took another drink. "…I met her twenty years ago. At sea."

"At sea?" I took a sip from my own drink. "How did you do that?"

"I was in a boat, and she was swimming. We ran into each other. At first, I was a little shocked when I realised she was a merperson."

I choked on my drink, almost spraying my contents across the table as I coughed. Kazuya slapped me on the back until I controlled my coughing fit. Lin watched on silently.

"Wh-What?!" I finally gasped. "Aoibhin was a –"

"Yes. She came here from Giant's Causeway." He looked down at his drink. "Part Blue Shark."

Well, that must have explained why he was so willing to befriend John. I wondered how he felt when he saw another merperson turning up on his doorstep, after the last one in his life – who he had loved – had passed away. "Wait…so you get more than…human blue marlin…hybrids?" I asked tentatively.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes. There is – or there was – a type of merperson for most species of fish. Most of them will have…died out, though. A lot of merpeople were murdered by fishermen, and even more have been killed by pollution. Most have been forced to migrate inland. There are a few groups left, though."

"What kind?"

"The sharks were pretty hardy survivors, I hear. A lot of tropical fish have just moved inland, and so have some of the long migraters. The folks that live in the abyss…well, they were always a little…detached from the rest of the communities, always have been. They're so isolated from everyone else, I'm sure they're doing fine. Even with the ocean floor overfishing, I have a feeling they're just going to swim deeper down. They can't do that forever, though."

"Abyssal merpeople…" I'd seen pictures of the strange, grotesque creatures that lived at the very depths of the ocean, their features deranged and bizarre so to be able to live in such dire, extreme conditions. I wondered if the merpeople were equally as frightening to survive such depths.

"…Have you ever seen an…abyssal merperson?" I asked.

"No. Few have. They can't come up to shallower water – the changes in the pressure would kill them – and the other merpeople can't go down, either. I once met someone who'd gone down there. She was very old, came to Belfast on holiday. She'd swam down, once, as far as her body could take the pressure. Saw a couple of the merfolk down there."

"Really? What were they like?"

"Well…let's just say they don't look nearly as human as John does. And they're not nearly as friendly, either."

The thought was quite chilling. "Wow…"

"About Aoibhin," Kazuya shifted the conversation back into focus, "What was she like?"

At once, Lin's face fell. "…She was kind. Carefree. Never wished bad on anyone."

I glanced at Kazuya. Right now, ordering the deaths of so many innocent people…I wouldn't call her 'kind'.

"Is today any kind of significant day for her?" Kazuya asked. Lin seemed particularly upset today, so I understood why he was asking.

He nodded. "…The anniversary of her death. She died today, 15 years ago."

"…I'm sorry for your loss."

Lin just shrugged, staring out of the window again, avoiding our gaze.

"…Could I ask about how she…passed away?"

He hesitated before nodding. "…She used to always go out swimming at 4 o'clock each day. The water is normally so clean around here, so it was a great place to swim at. It's why she came here in the first place. But that day, she came back and a few hours later, she was suddenly so ill." His face looked pained. "I took her to the hospital, but it was too late. They diagnosed it as chlorine poisoning." He ran his hand over his face. "…The water she'd been swimming in had been polluted with chlorine."

There was a silence. Neither of us wanted to speak up for a while.

Finally, Lin began to speak again, his voice husky. "…They did the autopsy, but when I went to lay her body to rest, she wasn't there. Her body disappeared from the morgue. A few months later, around the times of the Yoshimi murders, they found her body in the sea."

I felt sick. "S-Someone stole her body and dumped it in the sea?"

"Her body wasn't the only one." Kazuya remarked. "Another man – Patrick Delaney – was found, too."

Lin frowned. "You mentioned that before, but I was never told of it when the police allowed me to finally bury her."

"It was hard to find, actually. Matsuyama had the information hidden at his house."

Lin raised his eyebrow. "How did you get your hands on it, then?"

We looked at each other.

"Uh…"

"L-Look, that doesn't matter." Kazuya hastily brushed the topic aside. "You had some pictures in your house of people related to both the current murders and the Yoshimi murders. Why?"

Lin took a drink. "…At first, I didn't see any connection. I thought that Aoibhin's death was just a freak accident. But then, the recent murders started happening…The likelihood of such brutal crimes happening in the same, small town in such a short space of time can't be a coincidence." He frowned. "Then, while I was researching, I realised that there was very little information on the Yoshimi murders. It struck me as strange. Why had there been so few reports? And, when I looked into the backgrounds of Hideo Atsukio, Noriko, all the fishermen who had drowned, and now Naoki Suzuki, I realised none of them are related to the Yoshimi's themselves."

"What?" This was a surprise.

"They have no real personal connection. Hideo and Suzuki weren't even from around here. But there is one person they relate to."

"Who?" If it wasn't the Yoshimis…

"Hideharu Matsuyama."

I froze. Yasuhara's father?"

"Hideo and Suzuki were hired by him. The fishermen who drowned either used to work for him or were good friends with him. Noriko was first hired by him as the police receptionist, shortly before he left the force five years ago."

"And Matsuyama was the officer in charge of the Yoshimi murders…" I realised.

"And of Aoibhin's body." Lin told us. "That man is strongly connected to this in some way. He might not be the murderer, but…he did something, I'm sure of it. He did something, or found something, and covered up Aoibhin's death. And we're not the only ones who know."

"What do you mean?" Kazuya asked. There was a look in his eye, though, that made me think he knew what Lin was going to say.

"The murderer knows. And, whatever role Matsuyama had in the Yoshimi murders and Aoibhin's death, the murderer is angry about it. These deaths are to punish him. I'm sure of it."

* * *

We hurried back down the empty streets, the wind tossing around dust and spray angrily. Lin had gone back to the lighthouse, since the weather was getting worse. Even though it was summer, I found myself wishing I was wearing gloves. It only took a few minutes for my hands to go numb from the biting wind.

"We need to tell your brother about this." Kazuya had to raise his voice to be heard over the wind.

"Definitely. Oh, yeah – you told Lin that Patrick Delaney worked for White Nights." I remembered him mentioning it on the hillside. "Is that true?"

He nodded. "I was doing some research, and it turns out, Delaney worked for them, although the company went by the name 'Right Nights' back then. After Delaney was murdered 15 years ago, they changed their name, for some reason."

White Nights…how did they connect to this? And why were they giving Matsuyama money? The monthly deposits he got, the cover-ups, the information he hid – what did he know? What had he found, or done? What was he hiding?

I felt a surge of sympathy for Yasuhara. Everyone hated his father – that was bad enough – but to know his father had such a strong link to both serial killings? How would he feel if he knew that?

Something suddenly occurred to me. "Hey, Kazuya."

"Yes?"

"Aoibhin died because she swam in water that was polluted with chlorine, right?"

"Yes."

"So, for some time, the water around here was heavily polluted with chlorine, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, how come the council was allowed to build the clam farm?"

Kazuya stopped abruptly.

"…I don't know. That clam farm has been here for a while, hasn't it? A good ten years or so."

"Yeah. Like, I know the water is clean now – the clams can live in it, and John has been swimming in it fine – but if it was so heavily polluted that someone died, even if it was only polluted for a short time, surely they wouldn't have been allowed to have that clam farm? I mean, they're so strict with the water regulation, they didn't even let Matsuyama take his boat out when Yasuhara put graffiti on it." It just didn't make any sense.

Kazuya considered this for a long time. "…I don't know." He finally admitted. "But you're right. This is very strange."

"Oh, and one more thing." I stopped, and folded my arms stubbornly. "You promised you'd tell me about the alarm."

Kazuya stopped, a creeping look of dread on his face. "Well, yes, but we need to tell –"

"No, you're putting it off! You keep trying to avoid it!" First, it was 'we need to find Lin'. Now, it was 'we need to find my brother'." He was clearly avoiding the topic.

He scowled. "But this is more important."

"I know, but you promised." I looked at him, trying to make my gaze match mine. "Look. You heard our sob story, right? Now you tell yours."

He sighed heavily, and nodded with defeat. "…Fine."

The weather was wild and harsh as we sat down on a bench that overlooked the sea, rain coming down in bursts.

Kazuya was quiet for a long while. I did not disturb him as he prepared himself for whatever it was he had to say.

"The reason…I could turn off that alarm…" He began, his voice strained. He paused for a long time again.

"…I have ESP."

I stared at him in shock. He had ESP? "Wh-Wh-Wha – How – What –"

"That's why I know so much about parapsychology."

I opened my mouth, then closed it in disbelief.

"My ESP is different to yours, though. You're a latent psychic, so you can't really control it. It comes to you randomly. Mine, though… I have post cognition and clairvoyance. If I touch something, or concentrate on it, I can focus my visions around that object."

"I-Is that what you did with the alarm?" I asked, still reeling from the information.

"Yes. I had a vision of Matsuyama using the alarm, so I could see what number it used. It was very, very tiring, though."

I remembered how pale he's looked after – it had been as if he'd run a marathon. "How come?"

"…I…It's been a very long time since I've used it."

"Why? If you're a police officer, why haven't you just used your ESP to solve this case? Concentrated on something the murderer touched?"

He looked down at his feet, and swallowed. I had never seen him looking this emotive before.

"…I can't. Not anymore."

"What do you mean?"

He closed his eyes. "…Because of my brother. We…I can't do it without him. The power is too much for me to handle by myself. So, when he died…I couldn't do it.

"We used to work on cases together. He was a medium. I had ESP. We solved a lot of cases together. If we tried anything too big when we were apart, we could collapse. But as long as we were together, we were fine."

He laughed bitterly. It was a very sad laugh, filled with self-resentment. "…I was confident in our abilities. My ability. He was so humble, but I wasn't…I got careless. We were on a case together, in an abandoned office complex, looking for a murderer, and I forgot to check one of the exits. I didn't cover it."

He paused, and looked down at his own hands. "…One exit. That's all it took. One exit I forgot to cover because I was too caught up in the chase and my own abilities. The murderer we were after shot him in the back four times. My brother lost his life because of me."

We stayed in silence for a long time. To feel responsible for your own brother's death…

_…__It got bad. I tried to end it…_

How alone must he have felt? Guilty? Helpless?

I touched his shoulder gently. Poor, poor Kazuya. "…I'm sorry." The words felt like a meagre, weak offer of consolation, but Kazuya nodded, and inhaled shakily.

"…After that, I couldn't use my powers anymore. When I did – for a task too big for me to handle, a vision that went too far into the past – I collapsed. Cardiac arrest. I was in the hospital for weeks. Smaller things, like that alarm, are very tiring, but not fatal. Anything bigger, though…"

Something occurred to me. "Wait…what about that bottle? How come we had that vision of Lin waling into the hills?"

"It's because we were holding hands. I wanted to see if I could bounce the energy off you, between us, like I did with my brother. It worked, but not for as long."

"Wait…so together, we can have specific concentrated visions?"

"Well, it worked that time, but I'm not sure if it will always work. I'd need to test it out a few times."

"But, this is great!" I stood up and paced up and down the pavement. "If it worked, we could solve this case for good!"

However, Kazuya looked unsure. "…I don't know…"

"Do you mean you might collapse?"

"No. I…I mean…I don't like doing it anymore. It…brings back some painful memories."

Oh. Slowly, I sat back down. That was very insensitive of me.

"…I'm sorry." I apologised. "…And I'm sorry for bringing up painful memories." I understood now why had had been so reluctant to share it with me.

He let out a long breath. "…That's ok." He turned to me. "…You must think I'm terrible."

"What?"

"For causing my own brother's death."

I recognised the hatred in his voice towards himself. The guilt. I had heard it in Houshou's voice, too, after the incident that made us leave Dublin. A self-destroying hatred.

Gently, I took his hand. "…Kazuya. What happened was an accident. You can't keep on blaming yourself forever. I'm sure your brother wouldn't want you to be hating yourself."

He paused. "…How can you be so sure?"

I smiled sadly. "I just am."

He sighed again, and rested his head on my shoulder. "…Ok."

We stayed like that for a long time, the rain falling on us.

Finally, Kazuya spoke up again. "…Thank you. For listening to me."

"That's fine. And thank you for telling me."

Slowly, he stood up. "…And I guess…we could try…"

"What?!" I stood up excitedly. "You mean, try to have a vision?"

"Yes. We can try." He looked towards the beach, and began to walk. "I can't guarantee it will work, though. We'll try down by the cave. If he's visited Aoibhin's spirit recently, we'll know."

"Oh, Kazuya." I called out to him. He paused, and turned. "I just have one more question."

"Yes?"

"…What was his name? Your brother's?"

He smiled, and glanced towards the sea again.

"…Eugene." He finally spoke up. "…His name was Eugene."

* * *

Down on the beach, the waves were getting more and more restless, the grey water crashing onto the sand, dragging back sand and shells with it, only leaving behind a trace of white spray. A few seagulls wheeled the sky, their cries keen and sharp even over the noise of the waves. The air tasted of salt, drowning out the other scents of seaweed and wet sand. Tonight was going to be a stormy night.

"We shouldn't stay too long." I told Kazuya as we walked towards the cave. "The waves are looking big, and the tide's coming up." I hadn't stayed here at Carlingford long, but I still knew the dangers of the sea when a storm was coming. "I don't think we should go directly into the cave, either. It's too risky."

"Agreed. We'll stand outside. That should suffice."

When we reached the cave, though, we realised we were not alone. Masako was standing by the entrance, not caring that the wind was going to rip her umbrella away from her, or that the sea had already engulfed her shoes.

"Masako!" I called her over. She didn't hear me. "Masako! What are you going here?"

Gradually, as if in a trance, she turned around to face us. As we got nearer, though, I realised something was wrong.

She was very pale. Her skin almost seemed to be glowing in the darkness of the storm. Her eyes were wide open, but glazed and unseeing, as if they were made from glass. The wind howled around her, this time prying the umbrella out of her grasp and tossing it into the waves. She did not notice – it looked as if she hadn't even been aware she was holding it in the first place.

"Masako?" I asked tentatively. "Are you ok?"

"Wait." Kazuya suddenly put his arm out in front of me. "Don't touch her."

"W-What? Why?"

"She's possessed."

Cold dread surged inside me faster than the tide.

"W…What do you –"

"I've seen it before. In our investigations, Eugene would often allow himself to be possessed by the spirits of the victims, so we could get information from them about the crime. He looked exactly like this whenever it happened."

Masako did not move, or say anything. She just watched us silently, the waves lapping at her legs.

Cautiously, Kazuya moved forwards. "…Hello?...Can you understand me?"

Masako didn't say anything.

He moved forwards a little closer. My heart felt louder than the sea in my chest. "…You're not Masako Hara, are you?"

Still no response.

"…Are you…Are you Aoibhin O'Cuillin?"

A smile. Then a laugh.

It was still Masako's voice, but there was something…different about it. Something off. A hint of malice shone through, colder than the rain beating down on us.

"…Yes." She took a step forwards, the water swirling around her feet. "And you…you are Kazuya Shibuya."

Kazuya did not move, but I saw his hand reach for where his gun should have been.

"…I heard about you. You and her." She glanced over at me, and I quailed in her gaze. "You're trying to stop us, aren't you?"

Now, Kazuya took a hasty step backwards, and I grabbed his hand tightly. "What do you mean?"

"He knows that you know about me."

My mind suddenly flashed back to what I found out when Hideo Atsuki was murdered:

_…__The murderer had seen my message about the ghost. The murderer knew we were getting closer to the truth…_

"And what do you intend to do about it?"

She smiled again. It was a twisted smile that looked out of place on Masako's face. "He wanted me to tell you there's nothing you can do to stop him. And if you try and get in his way…you'll end up on the victim list."

My blood froze.

"…I see." Kazuya replied calmly. "Fine. We'll stay out of his way."

I knew he was lying, but I still felt angry. "Aoibhin? Why are you doing this?!"

"Mai!" Kazuya hissed at me.

"What happened to you to make you want to do this?!" I remembered what Lin had said – that she was kind, and carefree. Why had she changed so much? "What would Lin think if he saw you like this?!"

She froze. Suddenly, she looked puzzled. Sad. She shut her eyes and held her head.

Kazuya moved forwards carefully. "…Aoibhin?" He said gently.

Tentatively, he reached out and touched her on the shoulder. She gasped, and her eyes shot open again.

Kazuya grabbed her before she fell to the ground. Shakily, Masako righted herself, her eyes wide.

"What – What am I –"

"Masako!" I hurried towards her. Her face was rapidly gaining colour again, and her eyes had lost that distant quality. The spirit was gone.

"You were possessed by Aoibhin's spirit." Kazuya told her grimly. "What were you doing here?"

Rubbing her head, she sighed. "I…I was trying to find her. I think she and the murderer are planning something again."

"What?!" Kazuya and I looked at each other nervously.

"She was more worked up than normal. Excited. She was going on about how the weather might ruin their plan. When I asked her what it was…" She shook her head. "…I can't remember what happened."

"The weather?" I frowned. "What does the weather have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. Something to do with the rain? Maybe –" Kazuya froze, his eyes wide.

"What? What is it?"

He pointed towards the peer. Despite the darkness of the sky, I could see something clearly; smoke, twisting upwards in the air, from something glowing.

The three of us ran to the pier, out of breath. It wasn't long before we heard the sirens.

"Sirens?!" I panted. "What's going on?!"  
"That's a fire engine." Kazuya shouted back to me. "I think…the murderer was decided to burn something."

My stomach dropped. What had he done? Had he decided to burn down a house?

We soon realised we were not the only ones who had noticed the smoke. A crowd of people had gathered at the pier, braving the hostile weather to see what was happening. Beyond the throng of people, though the sirens had stopped, I could see blue and red lights flashing glaringly. Hastily, we pushed our way to the front of the crowd. Everyone was too enthralled by the scene in front of them to notice us. A fire engine was parked on the road, and two police cars were also there, the officers already interviewing people and taking notes.

Kazuya looked onto the scene, pale. "…No wonder he didn't want the weather to be so wet."

One of the boats had been torched. The top deck was completely black with soot, and all the nets had been reduced to cinder and a few burnt ropes. Smoke was still hovering up, being swept away quickly by the wind.

"Wait…doesn't that boat belong to Yasuhara's father?" Masako asked, the blood drained from her face again.

"Y-yeah." That was the boat that had been graffitied, then Yasuhara had taken out when he had caught John in that net. "It's Matsuyama's."

With the officers, I could see Yasuhara being interviewed. He looked sick. He kept on staring at the boat, unable to take his eyes off of it.

When I followed his gaze, my blood froze.

Something had been written in red paint across the hull of the boat, almost in mock impersonation of the graffiti that had once been there.

'MATSUYAMA – I KNOW WHAT YOU DID.'

There was no doubt now. Matsuyama did something 20 years ago.

And now, the murderer was angry.


End file.
